The president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of the Republika Srpska, Stojan Marinković, said that due to the excessive import of meat, the price of pig meat is significantly low, even below the producer price.
He says that large pig farms cannot sell piglets and fattening animals, because the market is oversaturated with meat imports from the EU or third countries and they cannot compete with those prices.
Marinković reminded that the price of live piglets is about seven KM per kilogram, and as for calves, there are not enough of them on our market, and calves are imported for further fattening.
“In butcher shops, prices are linked to imported veal, imported beef. Kudos to some butchers who cooperate with local farmers and buy bulls from them, which is going as normal for now. However, the excessive import of meat and special prices made by certain markets and shopping centers are something we cannot deal with,” said Marinković.
Marinković adds that the situation is similar with milk, which, despite the reduced purchase price, dairies cannot place on the market due to excessive imports, and adds that agricultural producers would definitely fail without subsidies.
“Unfortunately, our appeals to introduce protective measures have not borne fruit. Everyone is closing in and is afraid to apply the provisions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and Cefta, which allow the introduction of protective measures, but, unfortunately, we do not have the political will to see it through,” said Marinković, writes BHRT.
