August 22, 2007

Bosnia to import wheat, corn from neighbours

Bosnia will ask Croatia and Serbia for imports of wheat and corn to cover an expected stock shortage this autumn and keep rising prices under control, the foreign trade ministry said on Tuesday (August 21).

The ministry said that local crops can meet only up to 20 percent of demand in the country which annually imports 400,000 tonnes of wheat and 200,000 tonnes of corn.

Bosnia imported about 150,000 tonnes of wheat in the first half of the year and the country's imports from Serbia, Croatia and Hungary account for 80 percent of Bosnia's wheat and corn imports.

However, Serbia imposed a three-month ban on exports and Croatia announced the introduction of export taxes for wheat and corn resulting to Bosnia's grain shortage.

Bosnia's millers have asked the government to help them import 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 25,000 tonnes of corn each from Croatia and Serbia under free trade agreements.

The ministry said they will also look to Europe should they fail to get the grains from their neighbours.

Bosnia's millers have also asked the government to scrap a 6.0 percent wheat import tax and value added tax, in order to keep the prices low.