Krasniqi wants the state to protect grape growers

Krasniqi has said the decision on the provisional safeguard clause in importing trees and vegetables taken by the Ministry of Commerce has created a new situation on the local market.

The decision for temporary protective measures to import trees and vegetables, taken by MTI on the date 13,07.2018 and implemented by 18.07.2018, which was taken based on the Law on Protection Measures on Imports, after the investigation and assessments needed, as envisioned with the legislation in power, has created a new situation in the local market, potentially creating local producers before our farmers, to put them on the market and sell their products to <1x> Krasniqi wrote, KP.

In response Krasniqi has said he welcomes this decision, and safeguard clauses in question will help farmers be more competitive in the market.

The question of the decision in question lists 21 agricultural products, trees and vegetables that are cultivated in our country. I look forward to that decision in principle, since it's us that season when most of these products have the harvest phase and we lack sufficient capacities for long-term preservation, protection measures in question will help our farmers to be much more competitive on the market”, Krasniqi said further. Krasniqi has expressed surprise at the failure to include grapes in the decision and list of products that will be subject to the temporary safeguard clause.

He has also stated that the main demand of farmers is that the list of protected products at this stage be added grapes.

Anyway, I'm surprised with the non-involvement of grapes in the decision and the list of products that will be subject to temporary protective mass. For this matter, during the past week, I've been talking to various vinedressors in the Rahovec municipality, but also the Suhareka municipality, and their demand, without exception, is that the list of protected products at this stage of the tow is added to”, Krasniqi said.

There are over 3,500 hectares of vineyards in Kosovo and hundreds of families dealing with grape cultivation and they deserve to have the care of state institutions, the same as growers of other agricultural cultures were favoured by the decision mentioned earlier. So I ask the Minister of Trade and Industry as soon as he makes the completion and change of the temporary protection decision to include grapes on the list of agricultural cultures addressed by this decision”, Krasniqi has concluded.