Bosnia resumes poultry exports to the EU after four-month bird flu ban
Bosnia and Herzegovina has restarted chicken meat exports to the European Union after a four-month suspension tied to avian influenza. Producers extended fattening cycles and processors froze stock during the ban, but the sector kept its supply chain intact and preserved its EU market access.
Bosnia restarts EU chicken shipments
Bosnia and Herzegovina has resumed exports of chicken meat to the European Union after a four-month suspension triggered by an outbreak of avian influenza, Radio Sarajevo reported, citing public broadcaster RTRS. The ban ran considerably longer than the poultry sector had anticipated. Even so, producers said they were prepared for its removal, and that the domestic supply chain came through the crisis without lasting damage. Access to the EU market depends on disease-free status, and the outbreak had shut that channel for the country's exporters.
Growers absorbed longer cycles
The disruption reached individual farms as well as processors. Contract grower Nikola Gudalovic, from Sitnes, produces roughly 35,000 chickens in a single cycle. Because birds were held in extended fattening while exports were blocked, he will complete five production cycles this year rather than the six he had planned, according to RTRS. On a single farm, that is close to a sixth of annual throughput lost to the delay. Larger operations reported similar effects. Djuro Cvijic said close organisation and cooperation across every link of the production chain was what allowed the sector to avoid more serious disruption.
Frozen stock lifted costs
The financial strain was clearest at the processing level. During the ban, Perutnina-S of Srbac had planned to ship 1,863 tonnes of chicken meat to the EU market. With that outlet closed, part of the output had to be frozen, which pushed up operating costs. Freezing erodes the premium available on fresh poultry and ties up product that was intended for immediate sale, leaving processors carrying inventory and extra cold-storage expense until the market reopened.
An export-oriented branch
Poultry is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's export-oriented agricultural branches, and the reopening of the EU market removes one of the biggest challenges the sector has faced in recent years, according to the reporting. Producers, processors and veterinary institutions acted jointly to bring the episode to a close. First indicators cited by RTRS suggest that production, exports and market position were preserved without major disruption.
The resumption of shipments confirms that Bosnian suppliers retained their standing with the bloc despite the length of the suspension. The immediate task for the sector is to rebuild the volumes and shelf presence that competing exporters may have covered during the four-month absence, and to work back to full production rhythm after the extended cycles forced on growers.
