August 8, 2018

EU approves Bosnia and Herzegovina dairy product exports

The European Commission (EC) issued its stamp of consent on August 6, to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to export milk and dairy products into the EU, said BiH Trade Minister, Mirko Sarovic.

He shared in a press statement, "The European Commission announced the decision today to place BiH on the A and B list of countries that are allowed to export all types of milk and dairy products into the EU."

Sarovic further commented that the approval portrays a great success for BiH's dairy industry and highlighted that BiH was one of the few countries outside the EU that met the conditions for export of all types of milk.

Previously, BiH only exported thermally processed milk that is on the C list, but from now on, milk with a lower degree of pasteurisation and raw milk can be exported as well.

Since September 2016, milk produced by dairy farms in BiH entered the EU market for the first time. The country has until now exported more pasteurised milk to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) signatory countries than it has imported, but there was still a large deficit in dairy exports, Sarovic explained.

In 2017, BiH milk and dairy exports amounted to a total of 76 million Bosnia-Herzegovina Convertible Marks (US$44.8 million), which was a 12% increase year-on-year, BiH Chamber of Commerce official website stated.
 

Source: Xinhuanet