Cattle farmers worried about possible milk importing – Will milk import taxes be extended past June 30?

The announcement that the milk import taxes will be abolished is worrying local cattle farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture says that it is not yet known whether the taxes, which are there to protect local production, will be extended past June 30, but claims that it has a solution.

Dragisa Cakajac has been seriously involved with cattle farming and milk production since 2008. He used to deliver 100-150 liters of milk to dairies, but now, eight years later, he is facing the announcements concerning milk importing and he is thinking of selling all his cattle.

- If this is the way things continue and if milk importing becomes free starting July 1, as it has been announced, it will prove very difficult for us – says Cakajac.

Taxes on the importing of milk and dairy products were introduced by Serbia to protect local producers. Nevertheless, there’s an increasing pressure from Brussels to give up such measures. Big buyers like Imlek claim that the consequences will be enormous and that Serbia should learn from others’ experiences.

- We should take a moment to look at the neighboring Croatia, which entered the EU completely unready to act in the domain of protection of raw milk producers. This resulted in the total ruination of the livestock fund, a decrease in amounts of milk produced, and with that a decrease in buyout prices – says Darko Samardzija of Imlek.

The Ministry of agriculture says that it is not yet known whether the milk import taxes will be extended past June 30.

- The Ministry of agriculture will find the best possible solution for the protection of local producers and continue enforcing its measures for supporting the livestock production and the dairy sector, as it has done so far – says Tomislav Topalovic of the Ministry of Agriculutre.

In case of the milk import taxes being abolished, the Serbian market will be flooded by the EU milk, the consumers prices will be lower, but the biggest damage will be taken by local milk producers, in the experts’ estimation. The new government has an important task ahead of it – to use the negotiations with the European Commission to propose the introduction of import duties on certain types of milk and semi-hard cheeses, while in turn offering to cancel duties on an industrial product.