In the first five months of this year, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded a significant drop in the export of special industry products, which amounted to 119.9 million KM, which is 90.4 million KM less compared to the same period last year, when exports reached 210.4 million KM, according to data from the Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA) of BiH.
Credit rating and billing issues
Dušan Vještica, director of the “Kosmos” business company from Banja Luka, told “Independent newspaper” that BiH is losing its credit rating year after year, which is why it is not surprising that exports have fallen.
“It has been officially confirmed that Bosnia and Herzegovina has entered the gray zone of preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and the like,” Vještica said.
He added that this company has a lot of problems, especially in billing for the work done.
“We do the work according to the regulations, we get all the legal permits, and then when we need to collect – we have thousands of problems,” said Vještica, adding that BiH as a country has a bad credit rating with increased risks.
As he explained, although the dedicated industry recorded significant results and increased exports in previous years, this year the situation is different.
“When war conflicts take place in the world, then the opportunities for the dedicated industry of small countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina are reduced,” said Vještica.
He added that in such conditions, big powers dominate the market, while small countries lose positions due to restrictions, permits and risky procedures.
Loss of the American market and new export destinations
Economic analyst Igor Gavran previously told “Nezavisne novine” that one of the key reasons for the drop in exports is the loss of the American market.
“The loss of the American market, due to the unilateral and unjustified increase in tariffs, continues to have a negative impact on our exports. However, in the meantime, we have found new markets, such as Iraq, and further strengthened our presence in markets such as the Czech Republic,” emphasizes Gavran.
However, despite the current decline, the outlook for recovery is positive. The global security situation and growing geopolitical tensions are contributing to increasing demand for specialty industry products worldwide.
“Given global events, it is certain that demand will grow. This means that domestic producers have a real chance not only to compensate for the current decline, but also to significantly increase exports in the coming period,” concludes Gavran.
As he said, the drop in prices was certainly not recorded, and the structure of exports mostly remained similar, which indicates that it is a real drop in exports, and not just an apparent one.
The Czech Republic became the largest export market for BiH. dedicated industry
According to the data of the BiH Indirect Taxation Administration, the Czech Republic stood out this year as the most important destination for the export of specialized industry products from BiH, overtaking traditional markets.
“Weapons worth 46.2 million KM were exported to the Czech Republic”, according to the ITA of BiH.
Products such as bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, rockets and similar military ammunition, including their parts, still account for the largest share of exports.
In five months of this year, the export of these products reached a value of 97.3 million KM, which confirms the demand for this type of goods on the international market.
Apart from the Czech Republic, important export destinations include Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, which have been stable markets for Bosnia and Herzegovina for years. dedicated industry.
Namely, according to the data, BiH exported the most weapons to the United States of America and Saudi Arabia, as well as to Serbia, in previous years.
