Kosovo tradesmen's bie little ʹpatriotism, 40m euros more they gave to Serbia this year

Kosovo imports up to 90 percent of the products it needs from food to construction products. To ensure these products, Kosovo merchants are targeted throughout the world.

Inflation has caused patriotism to fall to local merchants.

The Kosovo Customs statistics, which Periscopi has seen, tell of an import that has been significantly increased with Serbia than in last year. Based on the first ten months of this year, January-October, import in Serbia is for 39m euros more than in the same period last year.

This very high figure is also being seen by business representatives.

Kosovo Economic Outlook Chairman Lulzim Rafuna says of Periscope that only the Government of Kosovo can lower this balance by simulating local production. According to his statements, the government is not even talking business about these jobs anymore.

This is a very high figure, but not only with Serbia, but with other countries. The balance is just going up. So the trade balance is terrible, and the services are much better. We're in the service.

To combat this, domestic production must be helped to increase.

“OEK has consistently made and is calling for an economic package that stimulates the local manufacturer. That helps business. There are different ways that that package would be. We're not imposing anything on the government, but we're asking for a business-government dialogue to find a qualitative package, which creates a”, Rafuna said of Periscope.

But, which month top import went to Serbia

The data shows that for the ten months of this year, from the neighbouring state, Kosovo has bought goods at a value of 255, 977, 580 euros. Based on the performance of the last months of the year, the figure by the end of December will exceed 300 million. August was the month when the site was closed to import.

Imports in Serbia - November 2022                                

• January: 13, 633, 070 euros
• February: 21, 466, 174 euros
• March: 27, 384, 602 euros
• April: 22, 644, 403 euros
• May: 26, 383, 275 euros
• June: 26, 129, 528 euros
• July: 30, 167, 808 euros
• August: 31, 738, 774 euros
• September: 27, 714, 860 euros
• October: 28, 695, 089 euros

Imported on January-October 2021

• January: 11, 831, 196 euros
• February: 16, 470.293 euros
• March: 20, 201, 510 euros
• April: 21, 843, 994 euros
• May: 22, 495, 276 euros
• June: 22, 463, 173 euros
• July: 26, 029, 821 euros
• August: 25, 081, 614 euros
• September: 23, 080, 621 euros
• October: 26, 593, 489 euros

In total, import for ten months last year appears to be 216, 090, 987 euros.

According to Kosovo Customs data, import in Serbia from 1 January to 31 December 2021 has been 243m and 466 thousand euros.

In other years, Serbia similarly occupied the Kosovo market with its goods. It exported 285 million and 300 thousand euros in 2014, 368 million and 200 thousand in 2015, 382 million and 100 thousand in 2016, and 387 million in that 2017.

“Serbia sent and Kosovo received products worth no less than 449m and 900 thousand euros from there, mostly from 2008.

The economic conquest Serbia was making to the Kosovo market for a decade (2008-18), the momentum halted the 10% tax first, and then 100% that the Kosovo Government, then led by Ramush Haradinaj, put on products of Serbian and Bosnian origin at the marathon of 2018. The total amount of its remittances from 449m to 900 thousand euros as it was in 2018 fell to only 5 million and 578 thousand euros in that 2019.

The tax lasted nearly a year and a half until 31 March 2020. On that date, he removed and replaced the new prime minister, Albin Kurti, with reciprocity. This presented him with much trouble during his first term. On the one hand, reciprocity was being accepted by Serbia, which conditioned the resumption of dialogue with Kosovo with the removal of this move.

Foreign diplomatic pressure made it its own. The LDK, which was in a coalition with the VV, broke the deal and created a new government with the AAK and NISMA.

Among the first actions the new ruler took at the time, Avdullah Hoti, was the removal of reciprocity with Serbia in June 2020. The northern neighbour, during 2020, sent products worth 190,98,000 euros.

The requirements for boycotting Serbia's products, the Vetevendosje Movement had had had them for years ago, but when it came to power it changed course.

In some cases they even banned Serbian products.

In a row, during October 2011, this party had rotated several trucks with Serbian goods.

An action was held on October 21, 2011. In the Podujevo-Pristina magistrate, exactly in the village of “Lupch”, Vetevendosje activists had turned a truck carrying construction material.

In announcing that time, the VV claimed responsibility for the crash of these trucks.

“He took action everywhere with the goods of Serbia”. V Movement Activists and MPs ENVENTION! fired the goods, which was the production of “Centro Proizoda” from Belgrade and then turned the truck, to make it fixed”, said the Vetevendosje statement.

But it is not only Serbia that has created a negative trade balance in Kosovo.

Data from foreign goods trade in Kosovo points to a higher trade deficit of 13.0 percent in the month of October 2022, compared to the same month of 2021, worth 402.3m euros, compared to last year's deficit 355.9m euros.

Kosovo exports to EU countries reached 37.7m euros, or about 43.7 per cent of total exports, with a 65.5 per cent increase.

Meanwhile, Kosovo imports from EU countries stood at around 203.3m euros, or 41.6 per cent of total imports, with a 15.7 per cent increase. /Periscopi/