Milk War Between Bosnia and Croatia

The media in Bosnia are reporting the halt of all milk deliveries from Bosnia to Croatia. The Croatian ministry denies this.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska, Radivoje Bratic, confirmed at a press conference that counter measures have been taken against a Croatian decision to control the quality of milk imported from Bosnia Herzegovina.

The president of the alliance of agricultural manufacturers of RS, Vladimir Usorac, warned that the measures taken by Croatia threaten the existence of more than 8,000 milk manufacturers in the Dubica and Bihac regions, reports pincominfo.

The problem occurred a few days ago when the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Rural Development brought a decision that voided a declaration that certain Bosnian products can freely be imported into Croatia, and that there are no veterinary/health problems.

Deliveries are being stopped and samples are sent to the laboratory for testing, whilst the remaining delivery is out of circulation until the analysis is complete.

Croatian ministry reaction: milk imports from Bosnia have not been stopped

Today the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Rural Development announced that the import of milk from Bosnia Herzegovina has not been stopped, and that there are no non-customs barriers for trade with Bosnia Herzegovina.

The Croatian ministry claims that they only had one quality control problem with the company “Mlijekoprodukt” and that standard procedure was in question. They said that the manufacturer has been contacted to change the noticed problems, and that the disputed shipment was not released to the market.

However “Mlijekoprodukt” complained to the Bosnian authorities, claiming that they were discriminated against.

The Minister of Agriculture for RS, Radivoje Bratic, said today that the only possible answer to the Croatian ministry was limiting the import of milk products from Croatia.

The Bosnian veterinary office ordered additional tests of Croatian products entering Bosnia Herzegovina. “Considering the unjustified halt of milk imports from Bosnia Herzegovina to Croatia, we implemented the same measures” said the head of the office Drago Nedic, saying that an import ban was not in question, but additional testing.