KOŠARAC: EXPORT OF APPLES AND PEARS TO RUSSIA APPROVED

JAHORINA, SEPTEMBER 25 /SRNA/ – BiH has been granted approval to export 14,270 tonnes of apples and 6,405 tonnes of pears from this year's harvest to the Russian Federation, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac said.

Following a meeting of the Russia–BiH Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation in Jahorina, Košarac said that the Russian market is large and that intensive efforts should be made to place products from BiH on that market.

He recalled that the previous year, exports to the Russian Federation had been approved for 4,000 tonnes of apples and 1,000 tonnes of pears, and thanked the Russian side for approving larger quantities this year.

"This demonstrates the Russian side's awareness and understanding of the need to open the Russian Federation's market to products from Republika Srpska and the FBiH," Košarac told the press.

He added that work would also be carried out on a memorandum of cooperation in the filed of phytosanitary requirements, noting that this would strengthen the adaptation of products from BiH to the Russian market in terms of applying standards.

"We will also continue working through the Veterinary Office and on products of animal origin, recognizing that we have good producers in Republika Srpska and the FBiH and that these products could also find their way onto the Russian Federation's market in the future," said Košarac, who is also Council of Ministers Deputy Chairman.

He said that the meeting also highlighted that the Russian Federation is a strategic partner of Republika Srpska and that, by 2026, it had invested approximately $2 billion in BiH.

Russian Ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabukhov also attended the meeting.