Minister Hasani says no bread price hike

The Parliament's Commission for Economic Development has asked the Minister of Trade and Industry today why they have not taken customs measures even to import wheat from Serbia, as well as requested assurances that there will be no increase in the price of bread with the latest decision on measures of 4 cents for flour imported from Serbia.

Parliamentary Commission for Economic Development member Hykmete Bajrami said it is unacceptable that the Ministry of Innovation has a budget of over 10m euros and will deal with only dealt with the Agency for Foreign Investment Promoting (KIESA) has a budget of 3m euros and of 154 thousand companies registered in the Agency for Business Recording, 103 thousand of them are taxpayers.

You document that the same measure you can apply to wheat and document and guarantee that there will be no increase in the price of bread, because I think that trade policies, local production incentives, are just as important as the well-being of our citizens, and bread is a product for which consumers are sensitive to price. It is also not acceptable that the Ministry of Innovation has a budget of over 10m euros and will only deal with the RRBK, while CIES has the 3m-euro budget and today there are 154 thousand companies registered in the ARBK, 103 thousand of them are taxpayers”, Bajrami stressed.

Trade and Industry Minister Bajram Hasani, during reporting to the parliamentary Commission for Economic Development, has pledged that there will be no increase in the price of flour and bread with the decision on measures of four cents to Serbia's import of flour.

He stressed that if there were customs measures even for wheat imported from Serbia, there would be an increase in the price of bread, and that the measures to flour have had reactions from Serbian authorities and Kosovo Assembly MP Ramiz Kelmendi, who, according to him, may have been touching them.

“With Anti-damping law allowed to take such a measure, we received a minimum price of four cents, of course, that before we decided we invited the miller's association and asked them for vows that there would be no price hike. In my decision, I have allowed this issue to be followed in terms of the price movement. Of course, we do not dare to measure the wheat because the price of bread may increase. In addition to reacting to us by the Serbian minister, we have also had Kosovo Assembly deputies who have reacted to this measure of flour -- someone may be touching them in their pocket, but we are determined to take all actions that support local production and which is in the country's interest”, Hasani stressed.

As for CEFTA, he said Kosovo should be presented as a state in CEFTA and not on behalf of the UNPC, and will review the position on the issue at the interministerial meeting to be held in Belgrade on November 23rd.

“As far as CEFTA is concerned, we have a meeting in Belgrade at the level of ministers. I wanted publicly to give up U n NMIC from preambles, because that agreement was signed in 2006, and I ask the European Union and the EU Office again to pressure, because that is the best way to give up and represent us as a state there. We also know the political obstacles and have received support from the prime minister to take one step further. And it is not that we should withdraw from CEFTA, we have said publicly that we will examine our position because those countries, which are not recognising or wanting co-operation”, the minister Hasani stressed.

He said during the report to the Commission that the MTI priority is supporting businesses and companies for their development.

Hasan said the top priority of this ministry is promotion and promotion of foreign investments and the diaspora, as well as market improvement.

Also, according to him, among the priorities of the MTI are consumer protection and improvement in doing business in Kosovo, because, according to Minister Hasani, market advancement and protection of local products always aimed at Kosovo's economic development.

Commission member Mimoza Kusari-Lila also raised concerns about forming two new ministries, and according to him, a parallel system within the government for strategic investments has been created.

Minister Hasani, answering the questions of members of this Commission, stressed that very soon the Strategic Investment Law will be alive, and according to him, all functions for foreign investment remain at CIESA and there is no transfer of competencies to the Ministry of Diaspore and innovation.