Will Todorić be allowed a monopoly in BiH?

If the Croatian company “Agrokor”, owned by Croatian millionaire Ivica Todorić, completes the takeover of Slovenian “Mercator”, the principle of a free market will be disrupted in the BiH market, and it could become even more difficult for domestic producers, the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) has learned.

Namely, Todorić, who is also the owner of “Konzum”, currently the largest retail chain in BiH, has been collecting money for months for the agreed takeover of the largest Slovenian chain, which is also among the leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

If Todorić realizes this plan, he will own “Konzum”, “Mercator”, and the “DP” chain, and these companies together cover a huge part of the market in BiH, thus he could control the entire market. In that case, the biggest problem arises for domestic producers, as it will be even harder for them to get on the shelves of this chain.

The director of the Sarajevo dairy “Milkos”, Adin Fakić, told the news agency Patria that “although Milkos has good cooperation with “Agrokor”, he has heard that some producers and companies from BiH are having problems.

- It's all a matter of negotiation. On the other hand, the state should take this into account. Regarding the representation of domestic products on the shelves. The Competition Council should have given its opinion. The state should enable all domestic producers cheaper entry into these facilities, positioning, and percentage of representation. From what I have seen in some market analyses, domestic products are not sufficiently represented - Fakić states.

Recently, Muamer Vlahovljak, the owner of the Bosnian chocolate and praline production company “Mak Zara” from Vogošća, told the BiH news agency Patria that "Konzum" deliberately stifles domestic entrepreneurs by placing BiH products in inaccessible places on its shelves. Precisely for these reasons, he withdrew "Mak Zara" products from "Konzum".

- I paid 20,000 KM for our chocolate to be on their shelves, but I quickly realized it was a mistake. Products like “Kraš” and “Dorina” have prime locations in “Konzum”, while domestic chocolates get a spot on the bottom shelf, at shoe level - says Vlahovljak, adding that this is not just about unfair play by “Konzum”, but about direct endangerment of the BiH economy.

Fakić believes that the state should have reacted in time and ensured a stable and secure market in BiH.

- Those people who are in the trade, economy, and finance segments, it's all up to them. When the state sets conditions, then there's no room for playing games and setting conditions. Although we contacted the Competition Council of BiH, we did not receive an answer.