Council of Ministers of BiH considered dairy farmers' requests

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Information of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations on the meeting regarding the state and problems in the dairy sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on November 11, 2014, in Sarajevo. At the same time, the Council of Ministers was verbally informed about new requests from associations of primary agricultural producers, which BiH institutions will respond to, in accordance with their competencies, once they receive them in writing, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

- The Council of Ministers of BiH, referring to previous requests, expresses absolute understanding for the dissatisfaction and the difficult position of milk and dairy product producers in BiH. The Council of Ministers has reviewed the analyses of milk and dairy product imports so far, which indicate that there has been no excessive import of these products from the European Union into BiH this year compared to the previous year.

The Council of Ministers of BiH calls on all competent authorities in BiH to, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, further and thoroughly consider the existence of a legal basis for activating the procedure for protecting domestic production as defined by the Decision on Measures for Protecting Domestic Production from Excessive Imports and the Decision on the Procedure and Method of Determining Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties, and to inform the Council of Ministers of BiH of the findings and possible solutions as soon as possible.

All competent ministries and administrative organizations in BiH are called upon to maximally engage in securing new markets for milk and dairy products from BiH, especially concerning the markets of the Republic of Turkey, the Russian Federation, and the countries of Central Asia, as well as enabling greater participation of this category of products from BiH in the markets of CEFTA countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH is tasked with intensifying diplomatic activities in cooperation with the Directorate for European Integration to find opportunities for the transit of milk and dairy products through the territory of the European Union to the markets of the Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation.

The Veterinary Office of BiH is tasked with intensifying activities, in cooperation with other relevant institutions in BiH, to meet the conditions for placing animal origin products from BiH on the European Union market.

The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH is tasked with continuing to conduct enhanced inspection controls of milk and dairy product imports at border crossings, and to continue to carry out post-import controls of milk and dairy product importers, especially regarding import prices, quantities, and customs registration of this category of products.

The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH will regularly publish reports on milk and dairy product imports/exports on its website.

The Veterinary Office of BiH is tasked with informing the Council of Ministers of BiH on a quarterly basis about the activities undertaken to meet the conditions for exporting milk and dairy products from BiH to the European Union market.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH is tasked with urgently establishing a working group composed of representatives from all competent institutions in BiH, with the task of analyzing the economic and social aspects of the beginning of the application of the "hygiene package," i.e., the Rulebook on Amendments to the Rulebook on Raw Milk, which is planned for January 1, 2015, and to inform the Council of Ministers of BiH of the established findings and recommendations.

All competent institutions in BiH are called upon to pay special attention to the possibilities of increasing financial support for the dairy sector in BiH when planning and preparing the budget for 2015.