Kemal Hrnjić on Croatia's complaint about milk export: The damage is already done, but I hope for a positive decision

The ban on milk exports from BiH to the European Union has damaged our country's image, as we know how many years we prepared for the start of exports, says Kemal Hrnjić, director of the Meggle Bihać dairy for the BiH news agency Patria.

We remind you that on August 26, on the day when the export of dairy products from BiH to the EU was supposed to begin, the Veterinary Office of BiH was informed that an EU member state had filed a complaint, and the export was stopped.

That country was neighboring Croatia, which stated in its written complaint that the competent inspection should have visited the approved dairies one more time before the export began.

However, the truth is different. As stated by Mirko Šarović, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, the neighbors were actually afraid of the competitiveness of BiH milk, and considering the fact that they exported 15 million kg of milk and dairy products to BiH in 2014 alone, the calculation is clear.

The European Commission is expected to make a decision on accepting or rejecting the complaint by September 10, and BiH dairies hope that the decision will be in favor of BiH.

- I hope for a positive decision. And we hope to return to the Croatian market - said Hrnjić.

We remind you that BiH lost the Croatian market on July 1, 2013, when that country joined the European Union, and for BiH producers, it is one of the most important markets.

The dairies that received the green light for export to the EU are Meggle Bihać, Milkos, Livno, and Mlijekoprodukt.