Minister Košarac Organized A Video Conference on Concrete Steps to Help Local Agricultural Capacities

Today, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, Staša Košarac, organized a video conference with the Ministers of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republika Srpska, Boris Pašalić and the Federation of BiH, Šemsudin Dedić, and representatives of companies operating in meat industry.

 

Minister Košarac expressed support for the measures of the entity governments and line ministries in order to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic on local agriculture. Minister Košarac said that he was completely committed to the protection of the local economy, emphasizing that his policy, as the line minister, would go in that direction in coordination with all levels of government in BiH.

 

At today's video conference, the problems in meat industry were discussed, with a focus on the realized surplus production and the possibility of their placement on the market. It was stated that it is necessary to establish clear and continuous communication between meat producers and processors in order to be able to solve the observed problems in a more efficient way.

 

It was concluded that the line entity ministries, based on exact data on processing capacities in the Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, will submit a list of producers who realize surplus production, in order to help domestic agricultural capacities.

 

Minister Košarac emphasized that he would ask the Veterinary Office of BiH, in coordination with the competent bodies in the Federation of BiH and the Brčko District, to speed up the process of abolishing vaccination against classical swine fever. He emphasized that Republika Srpska has completed its part of the work in that regard. Minister Košarac specified that after the implementation of this measure, it will be possible to continue exporting pork to Macedonia, which will significantly facilitate the work of domestic economic producers.

 

In order to help domestic agricultural capacities, Minister Košarac announced that he would ask the BiH Veterinary Office and, in coordination with the European Commission, examine the possibility of BiH using the Bijača border crossing in transit so that it could export live cattle to third country markets via the port of Ploče.

 

Participants in today's video conference expressed support for Minister Košarac's efforts to respond to the existing challenges in local economy in communication and cooperation of all levels of government in BiH. It was pointed out that this model of communication will continue, and it was announced that the next meeting will be held in ten days.