Mills ban sale of flour, warn suspension of production

This is because, as those flour, which is being imported from Serbia as subsidised by this state, has lower costs on the Kosovo market, and this did not make it sold the flour produced in the country.

The chairman of the Kosovo Millian Association, Muhamet Selmani, has stated that suspending the anti-damping fee to flour importers made flour production in Kosovo impossible, so he also warns of the extinction of this industry in Kosovo if this decision by MEPTIIS does not withdraw.

Selmani even says it harms Kosovo millers after the cost of flour production increases.

Serbia's “Costo of production with these terms of flour subsidies mean Kosovo flour has no account to produce, because the production cost will be much higher than the import of this flour coming from Serbia. This is the subsidized flour all citizens must understand. Even flour produced in Serbia is worth about 30 and something, but as a result of its subsidy of 80 dollars. As a result of this milling, they have expressed disappointment and today they have held a daily protest not that they have stopped the production, but they have halted the services and sale of flour in protest and we have expected the ministry to reflect today”, Selmani says.

The head of the Kosovo Mills Association declares that the millers deployed will not be able to sell a kilo unless the ministry reflects.

“If the ministry does not reflect, I can say with full responsibility the flour industry in Kosovo will not exist because there is no logic and there is no reason for producing 1 kilogram of flour within Kosovo's territory by millers now operating in Kosovo...04 If this tax doesn't take away the flour production, it's going to become impossible or didn't want the millers to produce or not, they can't produce because the cost of their flour production will be too high and they won't be able to sell it a kilo. Because flour that will be imported by $80 or is much cheaper “, he said.

The chairman of the Kosovo Mills Association said that during yesterday they have held a meeting with incumbent Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Haki Abazi and with Minister of Economy, Employment, Trade, Industry, Strategic Investments; Roseta Hajdari, where the March 30th decision, which has temporarily suspended some tax measures on the import of flour, has been announced.

Selmani has now announced that Kosovo has sufficient amounts of flour and there is no risk of crisis for this product, although we are in pandemic time and the flow of your citizens equipped with flour is huge.

According to him since the day the emergency situation was announced in the country because of COVIID 19 about 20 thousand tonnes of wheat and flour have been imported to Kosovo, which according to him exceeds the daily consumption needs of 40 percent.

There are sufficient amounts of flour in Kosovo there is no crisis for flour, there has been ecstatic demand for flour, and as a result of this milling have not been able to produce more flour, since they have worked in three shifts. But the demand has been enormous because of fear and widespread panic, now this fear has passed and now at every store and supermarket and oven, each mill has enough flour and any citizen can be reported. That's why we've already notified the minister and asked for this tax to be suspended because there's no reason for lack of flour because there's enough flour and there's going to be some”, Selmani stressed.

The decision, taken on October 19th 2017 by the Haradinaj government, has set the 4 cents per kilogram tax for importing the flour site from Serbia to Kosovo due to suspicions that this product is entering Kosovo at dumping prices or under production costs.