Although it was previously announced that after Croatia become part of the EU domestic milk producers would experience a fiasco due to non-compliance with European export requirements, official statistics show that dairies in Srpska continue to record good results.
Producers and processors have not encountered a black scenario, on the contrary, they were able to make an economic turnaround. They switched milk deliveries previously intended for Croatia to Serbia, Macedonia and Albania and adjusted the production and processing to the needs of the new market.
When compared statistically, trends in the dairy sector in February this year, compared to the same month last year, i.e. the period when RS exported to Croatia, show that cow milk production increased by 10.6 %, production of sour cream increased 25.4 %, while the production of yogurt and sour milk increased 0.2 %.
True, at the same time the production of drinking milk decreased by 19.9 %, cottage cheese decreased by 11.4 %, but this trend in the total value did not affect the fact that milk production amounts remain at the level they were before the Croatian accession to the EU, confirmed the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
Vladimir Usorac, President of the Association of Agricultural Producers – dairy producers RS, said that it is currently most important for the local dairies to retain the previous level of production, adding that RS found new markets when the Croatian shut its doors.
