Economy Erases Entity Border Between Sarajevo and East Sarajevo

(Patria) - The ratio of prices in the two BiH cities shows that at a distance of a few kilometers, prices can be significantly lower or higher.

Taking Sarajevo and East Sarajevo as an example, it is easy to establish that the prices of groceries and many services in East Sarajevo are significantly lower than in the capital of BiH. Official data from state agencies also speak about this - the union consumer basket in the FBiH, calculated by the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina for May 2019, amounted to 2,039.86 KM, while in the Republika Srpska, the union consumer basket for the same month amounted to 1894.39.

A simple look at an online classifieds site in East Sarajevo shows that an apartment of 40 m2 in a new building costs 60,000 KM. An apartment of identical square footage in the BiH capital costs around 87,000 KM. The situation is similar with older buildings. Thus, in East Sarajevo, an apartment of 80 m2 can be found for 100,000 to 120,000 KM. Prices for the same apartment in Sarajevo range from 120,000 in the peripheral Sarajevo settlements, and the price reaches up to 380,000 in the city center.

Citizens of East Sarajevo also have cheaper transportation. The price of diesel (D5) at gas stations in this city ranges from 2.23 to 2.30 KM per liter. In Sarajevo, the prices of the same diesel range between 2.26 and 2.41 KM per liter.

A difference is also noticeable in the price of medicines. The drug Dositnex costs 143 KM in a pharmacy in Lukavica, while in Sarajevo pharmacies Dostinex costs 150 KM.

Some craft services are also cheaper in East Sarajevo, such as services of painters, car mechanics, or electricians... Gas servicing in an apartment in Sarajevo costs around 70 KM, while service providers from East Sarajevo offer this service for around 30 KM.

This price difference in a relatively small area has led to citizens from Sarajevo often shopping in East Sarajevo, while craft workers from East Sarajevo increasingly offer their services in Sarajevo.