Bosnia and Herzegovina sells in Kosovo, but does not buy from it

This, despite the fact that the two countries are part of an agreement known as CEFTA, aimed at facilitating trade exchanges in Western Balkan countries.

Several production companies in Kosovo have already asked the country's institutions to pressure Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to allow entry into their market.

One of these is <x0).

Sami Feriz, a shareholder at this company, tells Radio Free Europe that the company has enough capacity for export. Its products, he says, are present in other Western Balkan countries, such as: Northern Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are the only states in the region that do not recognise Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008, and as such do not even recognise Kosovo's veterinary certificate.

Veterinary certificate is a document that confirms the safety of the veterinary cargo. In this certificate, the manufacturer is obliged to write down the name of the product's origin in this case, the Republic of Kosovo.

Feriz shows that he has submitted some official requests to the Kosovo Food and Veterina Agency (AUV) for the latter to ask Bosnian authorities to allow goods “Made in Kosova” on their market.

Last request says he did it about two months ago.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is not interested in co-operating with us. It brings large amounts of meat products to our market, and we don't export. What they have more than we do, so we can't settle our products there”, Feriz says.

AUV executive director Flamur Kadriu confirms to Radio Free Europe that, at the end of last year, has asked Bosnia and Herzegovina's Food and Veterina Agency to allow the availability of Kosovo products of animal origin. In March, he adds, the official letter for the same purpose has been sent to government officials of this state.

These institutions have not returned answers. The case has already been announced to the Secretariat of the CEFTA” Agreement, Kadriu says.

He explains that the request sent to Bosnia was made on behalf of the company “Apetit” and the company for producing milk products “VITA”

So far, we don't have any concrete answers to why importation of products produced in Kosovo is not allowed and we are pending. We don't know any reason except they don't recognise [Kosovo's] ” veterinary certificates, says Kadriu.

REL has asked the responsible authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina whether they have considered the demand of Kosovo institutions, but, until the publication of this article, there is no answer.

The REL has also turned to the Ministry of Industry, Intervention and Trade in Kosovo over this problem, but even this institution has not responded.

At a media conference on 12 April, Industry Minister Roseta Hajdari has deemed Bosnian authorities' behaviour towards products from Kosovo unfair.

“We are waiting for authorities there to return an answer to AUV”, Hajdari has said.

Kosovo Customs data shows that from 2022 to April 13th, 2023, the value of meat products that have entered from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo is over 190 thousand euros, while milk products are more than 4.8m euros.

Ramadan Mema, from the Milky Processors' Association in Kosovo, says that with the blocking of products of animal origin from Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina is violating the CEFTA Agreement.

It calls on the Government of Kosovo to protect local producers and to take measures to penetrate their products in Bosnia.

CEFTA is an international agreement established by the European Union. In this mechanism, except for Kosovo, belong: Albania, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova.

From 2018 to April 2023, Kosovo has imported products worth about 240m euros from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo Customs data shows. In addition to milk and meat products, drinks, alcohol, wood products, ceramics, glass, toys, and so on from Bosnia to Kosovo.

Kosovo has been facing a high trade deficit for years by importing more and exporting less, as experts say, hinders its economic growth.

Since it declared independence in 2008, it has had different challenges in terms of trade exchanges as well as Serbia, as it does not recognise Kosovo institutions' documents.

Kosovo has started to issue documents with the stamp “Kosovo's” since 2008, replacing the long-standing stamp of the United Nations Mission UNMIK.