Šarović: We welcomed foreign retail chains with open arms, now they are coming back to haunt us

We welcomed foreign retail centres with open arms, some with such enthusiasm that all permits were granted completely free of charge. And now, these retail chains are coming back to haunt us – says Mirko Šarović, former Minister of Foreign Trade of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

Since he was removed from this position in October last year by votes led by the SNSD, analysts assess that things have gone downhill for domestic producers. They are becoming less competitive against imported products, and on the shelves of foreign markets, they occupy less attractive spots.

Foreign retail chains in Bosnia and Herzegovina today occupy about two-thirds of retail outlets, and with their entry into the market of Bosnia and Herzegovina, tens of thousands of small shops have been shut down.

Experts who are a bit more optimistic note that the eyes of domestic producers are now only fixed on domestic consumers, in whom a sense of patriotism is beginning to awaken. The fact that they are increasingly buying domestic products is a great chance for the domestic economy to pull itself out of the crisis and push foreign ones out of BiH.

- We should not run away from foreign stores – says Šarović for NAP.

- But there must be a limit to how far they can go. If they want to enter our market, fine, that should be allowed, but they should primarily sell our products, not those from Serbia or Croatia, or any other country.

The latest scandalous case that has befallen Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning foreign retail chains is the „Tuš“ affair, when, after the withdrawal of the Slovenian retail chain from BiH, more than 500 workers were left without jobs in the country, and suppliers and the state were short by more than 20 million KM in debt.

- Let „Tuš“ be the reason for Bosnia and Herzegovina to finally put an end to the extraction of BiH capital through foreign retail chains – says Šarović for NAP.