BiH export of animal products to Croatia at risk

Johann Hesse, Acting Head of Operations at the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mr Ljubomir Kalaba,  BiH Veterinary Office Director, met in Sarajevo today to discuss issues related to the export of animal origin goods from BiH to the EU market.

“As things stand, Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot export poultry or poultry meat, and other animal origin goods, to the EU, since EU standards have not been implemented yet. If the authorities do not act swiftly, export of these products will drop significantly next year, when Croatia joins the EU, because that important market would be lost for BiH too”, Johann Hesse stated.

As noted at the last BiH-EU Sub-Committee for Agriculture in March 2012 and at the Interim Committee on 4 July 2012, the European Union has been hinting for the past couple of years at the urgency for BiH to streamline its official control system and upgrade its food establishments in order to be able to continue its exports to Croatia after their accession to the EU. The EU actively supports the BiH authorities in meeting the EU veterinary, phytosanitary and food-safety requirements by providing substantial financial and technical assistance. An EU financed expert mission in March provided BiH with a clear list of recommendations, which remains to be implemented. The EU stands ready to continue its support.

“BiH exporters are at risk because the Food Safety Agency and the State Veterinary Office have so far not established an official food control system in line with EU rules”, Dr Hesse stressed, reminding that as a consequence of this, BiH will not be able to export animal origin goods, which include poultry and eggs, dairy products, meat products, honey etc. to Croatia.

According to the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber data, dairy companies are the biggest exporters of the BiH agricultural sector. Some 50% of their export (40 million litres of milk per year) goes to Croatia.

Europa.ba