Farmers in BiH have been warning for some time that, if the situation in the sector is not stabilized, there could be a new increase in the price of milk. It could then cost around three KM per liter in supermarkets.
The growing gap between production costs and purchase prices is a growing problem that brings many farms in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the brink of survival. The situation is further complicated by unfair competition and excessive imports.
The area of the Tuzla Canton is among those regions with the largest quantities of milk produced, and the farmers there recorded a figure of three million liters during this year. However, due to accumulated problems, they warn that the price of milk will rise in the coming period is inevitable.
– The majority of farmers in TK, but also more widely, use concentrated mixtures that come from surrounding countries, and according to our poor yields of corn, which is the main grain in the production of animal feed, in the extreme we will have a significant increase in the price of milk – warns Eldin Glibanović, president of the Dairy Association of TK.
The last year was quite turbulent in the field of milk production, and Glibanović states that the spring was particularly problematic, accompanied by heavy rainfall, which greatly affected the sowing, and therefore the quality of silage and grain corn.
– In certain parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we had up to 70 percent damage to plots. On those plots, that is, with those farmers, we will now have a situation where they will have to buy larger quantities of food mixture, but not all of them will be able to survive, due to the increase in food prices. Because of this, we will find ourselves in a situation where we will certainly experience a decline in the production of raw milk – adds Glibanović.
He states that for the past few years in the Tuzla Canton, as well as in all other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there has been a decline in milk production, although farmers have adopted a different method of production and stimulation of livestock, such as planting new field crops and clover-grass mixtures.
– However, the state must stand by the producers, in order to improve the current situation, because the smaller harvest and yield of bulky food affects the functioning of farmers. The production of milk that we have must be maintained because Bosnia and Herzegovina is a large importer of dairy products, as well as meat products – emphasizes Glibanović.
And the import of milk and milk products further complicates the situation. Namely, in the year 2024 alone, milk and milk products worth approximately 267 million KM were imported, while exports amounted to 145 million marks.
That trade imbalance shows how threatened domestic production is, especially due to the lower prices of imported products flooding the market.
The dairy industry says that they are currently trying to maintain stability, but warn that the possibilities are limited.
At the moment, a liter of milk can be bought in retail for an average of 2.40 KM, but if the trend of rising costs continues, the price could, according to announcements, reach three marks, he writes. Noise.
