Hrvić: Our challenge is to revive many struggling domestic companies and save jobs

(Patria) - The CEO of AS Holding, Rusmir Hrvić, stated that as the largest flour producer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the company is prioritizing meeting the needs of the domestic market.

- Wheat prices on global exchanges are constantly rising, and in the past few weeks, they have increased several times. Demand and orders from abroad have intensified, but we have decided to reduce exports and prioritize meeting the needs of the domestic market. We will do everything necessary to ensure that the BiH market does not lack flour and other food products we focus on, Hrvić stated in an interview with Fena.

He says that AS Holding is aware of the fact that they are the leading food producer in BiH and that, as a responsible domestic company, they are taking concrete measures to prevent shortages of their products, but that they cannot influence the truly huge disruptions in the global market from which raw materials come.

- In BiH, we have enough silos to store the quantities of wheat needed for a year. Our total annual needs for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina are around 450,000 tons of wheat. It would be good to import larger quantities of wheat as strategic reserves just in case. If we continue to procure wheat continuously, we will have a significantly more relaxed situation. In addition to all this, the measures that we in AS Holding have taken and are taking will certainly help to minimize the impact on our market and ensure that the citizens of BiH have sufficient quantities of flour and our other products. We are monitoring the situation and assessing stocks of wheat and other raw materials to ensure optimal production. In addition to flour, companies from our group produce salt, bakery, confectionery, and other food products, and our primary goal is to have enough of all these products in the domestic market, Hrvić emphasizes.

He adds that even in this crisis situation, the importance of domestic production has been shown, and that the food industry certainly falls into the strategic sector. Hrvić once again appeals to sow every inch of arable land and increase domestic production of primary agricultural products. He also announces active cooperation with the Federal Government, which recently announced that it will increase strategic reserves of key products, primarily wheat, oil, and medicines. AS Holding is also the largest shareholder of the leading domestic pharmaceutical company Bosnalijek.

- The pharmaceutical industry is also of key importance in such situations. Everything must be done to stabilize Bosnalijek's operations as soon as possible, which have been significantly hampered by known circumstances. Together with other shareholders, we have appointed a new supervisory board, and I believe we will stabilize operations soon. AS Holding, as the largest shareholder, will make a significant contribution to the development of Bosnalijek's business. It has become a kind of special challenge for us to revive many struggling domestic companies. We are doing this to save jobs, but also to contribute to the development of our entire economy. After all, anyone who follows our work knows that AS Holding has only bought companies so far, never sold them. And that speaks to our business philosophy and intentions, Hrvić points out.