Fushe Kosove, May 23rd, 2016 – President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi paid a visit to “Eurolona” company, today, which deals with milk production and processing, to get a first-hand look at the export potentials of domestic producers.
Accompanied by the Minister of European Integration, Bekim Çollaku, and Minister of Agriculture, Memli Krasniqi, President Thaçi said that with the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), the local producers and Kosovan citizens will benefit most from its implementation. “Immense opportunities have opened now, however there will also be challenges such as increased competition. But from what I saw at “Eurolona” shows that competition will be overcome, because our quality domestic producers meet European standards and all it takes is to proceed with this trend, at the current pace”, President Thaçi said, adding that the SAA advances the position of Kosovo in international markets.
Minister of European Integration, Bekim Çollaku also spoke about the creation of exporting opportunities, saying that the SAA has opened new avenues and that it is up to the relevant institutions and specialized laboratories to deal with food security and standardization of products. “New avenues have opened, domestic producers shoud take advantage of these opportunities provided by the implementation of the SAA”, Minister Çollaku said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture, Memli Krasniqi said that about 25 percent of all our funds were invested in the past eight years in the consolidation of the dairy sector. “SAA is an extremely important chapter which creates great opportunities for Kosovan entrepreneurs, particularly for producers and processors. We believe that we will make use of these opportunities, while not neglecting the challenges that we will overcome together, helping producers to meet the required standards, as soon as possible, to be competitive in the European market and to have a wider range of products in the dining tables of European consumers”, Minister Krasniqi said.
On the other hand, the owner of “Eurolona” company, Milazim Berisha said that producers and institutions, besides their daily work, now have an additional responsibility to invest in the elimination of critical points and barriers that hinder the export of Kosovan products in EU markets.
“I think that there will be no lack of institutional support and that together we will eliminate barriers ahead of us. We are already implementing several projects to promote fresh milk and dairy products. I think that this project will contribute to consumers’ attitude towards domestic products”, said the owner of “Eurolona” company, Milazim Berisha, who described President Thaçi’s visit as encouraging for the company to work even harder to achieve its goals.
The products of this domestic company are certified in compliance to the highest quality and food safety standards, HAACP and ISO 9001:2008.