Dedić: Milk export permit is an extremely important event for BiH

The European Union's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) informed the Veterinary Office of BiH on June 19 that all procedures proposed in the Action Plan for the control of production and processing of milk and dairy products intended for export to the EU have received a satisfactory assessment in relation to all recommendations made by the FVO, reports the Patria News Agency.

Although our country is already on the list of countries approved for the export of heat-treated milk and dairy products to the European Union, before these products can be exported, Bosnia and Herzegovina must submit a list of companies to the European Commission that have been determined to meet the requirements and have been proposed for export to the EU based on that.

After the European Commission approves this list, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the right to export milk and dairy products to the European Union from these companies.

On the occasion of this extremely important event for our country, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Šemsudin Dedić, says that this ministry, as before, will continue its successful cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, i.e., the Veterinary Office of BiH, as well as the competent ministry in Republika Srpska, in order to fulfill its obligations and ensure the complete and coordinated implementation of all measures listed in the Action Plan, which primarily relate to strengthening supervision, control, and traceability in the milk and dairy product production chain intended for export to the EU.

- By the next visit of the FVO to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016, in order to verify the implementation of the Action Plan, Bosnia and Herzegovina also has the obligation to adopt a new Law on Veterinary Medicine completely harmonized with the so-called "Hygiene Package" of the European Union, after which the harmonization of entity laws on veterinary medicine with the state law will follow - says Dedić, and emphasizes that Meggle, Milkos, Mljekara Livno, and Mlijekoprodukt, which have been proposed for export to the EU, deserve all praise for the effort and work invested in meeting the extremely strict requirements of the European Union.

Minister Dedić expresses hope that a larger number of dairies from all over BiH will soon join this successful group, it was announced from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry.