If Bulgaria is the main importer of flour for Montenegro, and fuel prices do not decrease, it is to be expected that bread prices will rise again, he told "Vijesta" Hasan Ramovic from the Association of Bakers.
Director of the Directorate for Agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Miroslav Cimbaljević yesterday he said that an alternative source of supply had been established, and that the first truckloads of flour from Bulgaria had already started arriving in Montenegro.
"The responsible minister Aleksandar Stijović yesterday in Bulgaria, he had meetings with four prime ministers, and supply continuity will soon be established, which is good, because we will have more sources for the future, and we will not get into this situation," Cimbaljević told reporters at the protest of a group of livestock farmers in front of that ministry.
According to the knowledge of "Vijesti", last week, flour supplies in Montenegro were estimated at seven days, so flour and wheat must be imported from other markets at significantly higher prices.
Ramović confirmed that the bakers had a meeting with the representatives of the Voli company, after which it was agreed that the company would import flour from Bulgaria, in order to provide them with the necessary supplies.
He said that, if the import plans are realized, the market will stabilize in the next ten days, and that bread production will be carried out normally.
However, he said that bakers, if the basis for bread production is the import of flour from Bulgaria, will soon find themselves in a situation where they have to increase the price of bread, because the import of flour from Serbia is cheaper compared to Bulgaria.
"Prices are never the cause of someone wanting to raise prices, but inputs are the cause. After flour, fuel is the biggest expense for all bakers and that is the basis for thinking about increasing prices, that is, about bringing prices to the cost level. "No one is looking for a big profit from the bakers at the moment through calculations," he said.
The Government of Serbia introduced a ban on the export of flour and grains on March 10 for all countries, even though the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić two days earlier, he said that the countries of the region would be exempted, including Montenegro. However, since then, no decision has been made on any exceptions, and a ban on the export of edible oil has been introduced.
That could change at the next session of the Government of Serbia, and Cimbaljević also announced something like that, who said that they have unofficial information that this week Serbia will lift the ban on the export of some basic foodstuffs.
He said that there are still enough food stocks, but that in some segments the way of supply is difficult.
Stijović told "Vijesta" last week that Montenegro has sent Serbia data on the required quantities of flour, oil and cereals on a monthly and six-monthly basis and that he is awaiting a decision from the Government of Serbia.
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