100% tax does not diminish essential goods in Kosovo market

A month and a half after the customs duty is imposed 100 per cent for products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Kosovo market remains sufficiently supplied with essential products. Currently, all goods, including those from Serbia and Bosnia, can be found on the Kosovo market, even though imports from these two countries, according to authorities responsible in Pristina, have already been suspended almost as a whole.

At the Ministry of Trade and Industry in the Government of Kosovo, but also in the Economic Ode and the organisation “Consumer”, they say that during this period no basic product was observed, but also other products.

However, their assessments differ when it comes to the reasons for this stability, taking into account that Serbia, up to a month and a half ago, was the biggest exporter of goods in Kosovo.

Elhami Ismajli, spokesperson at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, says products from Serbia and Bosnia have been replaced immediately after trade exchanges with other countries have increased and new markets have been created.

After the tax is introduced, new export opportunities have been created and products, which have been imported from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have immediately been replaced. Statistical data indicates that exports have increased in Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Albania, Macedonia, and so on after the introduction of the tax. As new markets have been identified countries such as Libya, Iceland, Lithuania, etc.,” explains Ishmael.

You Can Read the Complete Article in Radio Free Europe