Protect BiH dairy farmers from increasingly strong market competition, imports twice as high as exports

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Information of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations on the state of the milk and dairy products market in BiH for the period 2013-2015 and recommended that institutions responsible for agriculture adapt the creation of agricultural policies, especially in the dairy sector, to the conditions of increasingly strong market competition, reports Patria News Agency.

The information states that domestic production has maintained stability in the observed three-year period, with a slight increase. Milk procurement has increased, and the dairy industry is increasingly working on diversifying products and introducing high market value products into production.

Total raw milk production shows a slight increase of about one percent annually, increasing from 689 million liters in 2013 to 697.3 million liters in 2015.

The production of raw cow's milk, as the most important raw material for the dairy industry, is stable, with a one percent growth in the three-year period, amounting to 674 million liters in 2015. The production of raw sheep's milk varies but averages around 16 million liters, and the production of raw goat's milk increased by 9.5 percent, reaching 7.7 million liters in 2015.

The number of cows and pregnant heifers has not significantly changed in the observed three-year period, averaging around 290 to 293 thousand heads.

In the last few years, the total number of milk producers has decreased, with 12,553 registered in 2014/2015, but the number of milk producers with more than five cows has increased.

Milk procurement increased by 16 percent in the three-year period, reaching 234 million liters in 2015. The purchase price of milk in 2015 was 0.54 KM per liter, which is 6.9 percent lower compared to prices in 2013 and 2014.

The production of UHT drinking milk decreased by two percent, amounting to 119 million liters in 2015, while the production of cream, sour cream, yogurt, and other fermented products increased by 23 percent.

Total foreign trade of milk and dairy products in 2015 amounted to 189 million KM, with imports accounting for 68 percent and exports for 32 percent.