REACTION Farmers' Association: Meat buyers and processors are the 'gravediggers' of BiH agriculture

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Regarding the synchronized appearances of meat buyers and processors from Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH today, the Farmers' Association of FBiH believes this is a gross manipulation and an attempt to defend the private interests of certain import lobbies.

Protection of domestic production is and should be the state's priority, and we are glad that due to our multi-month pressure, things are finally moving.

First of all, "we want to emphasize that today only buyers and processors spoke, i.e., the gravediggers of BiH agriculture, who instead of using domestic resources, prefer to import meat of extremely questionable quality and often unknown origin," the statement reads.

"Because of them and their kind, products of significantly worse quality than those offered by domestic farmers end up on the tables of BiH citizens. We should note that many of these products were sold as 'domestic', although in their case, only the ownership structure of the company that bought and processed the imported meat is domestic. The attempt to scare the public with price increases is actually a plea from buyers and processors for the income they collect thanks to such dishonest practices to remain untouched. They do not consider our country's huge trade deficit, the ruin of domestic farmers, the departure of young people from rural areas, and the increasingly evident job losses in the agricultural sector," the Farmers' Association of FBiH states.