Two months of blockade of Serbian goods in Kosovo - damage of 50 million euros; both sides are suffering

Bojan Stanic from the Sector for Strategic Analysis of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce said today that the damage due to the blockade of the import of goods from Serbia to Kosovo was increasing, stating that now, regarding the unrealized shipments, it was almost 50 million euros.

"Economy is a rational matter, and Pristina's decision is economically unrealistic and causes harm to end consumers in Kosovo and Metohija," Stanic told RTS.

He reminded that until July 8, it was forbidden to import everything from central Serbia, so the entry of raw materials, semi-finished products, machines, and equipment was allowed, except for final products for end consumers in retail.

"The fact is that the damage is increasing, but with less intensity than before July 8. The territory of Kosovo and Metohija is also suffering, especially because the economy is less developed," Stanic explains.

He also says that Pristina replaces Serbian goods with other goods from the region - from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, or Albania, which are still more expensive.

He states that Serbian goods in Kosovo represented a value of 520 million euros last year, while Prishtina delivered goods worth about 50 million euros.

"We have experience from earlier years when the exchange completely recovered. However, there were also boycotts of goods, along with informal campaigns. This did not have any negative effects on us," Stanic says.

He adds that it is a political decision, but that he expects due to EU pressures, that the ban on Serbian goods in Kosovo will be lifted.

"If the crisis ended tomorrow, the damage would be less compared to the previous blockade. However, it is more damaging, because we don't know how long it will last," Stanic concludes.

On June 14, Pristina banned the entry of trucks with Serbian license plates for, as it was explained, security reasons.

It was a response to the arrest of three Kosovo policemen, who have since been released pending trial.

The entry of trucks with Serbian license plates is allowed, but not the flow of goods.

These days, it went a step further, and Pristina canceled the registration certificate of 15 companies, including Mts, so that they could no longer operate there.