The Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković has met today in Banja Luka with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska pointed out that he would propose this at the meeting with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zoran Tegeltija and the Prime Minister of FBiH Fadil Novalić, which should be held on Thursday, March 10.
“The Government of the Republic of Srpska will help entrepreneurs, and that is why we are taking all necessary measures. We must jointly solve the problems caused by the conflict in Ukraine,” the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković told reporters after the meeting with entrepreneurs from Srpska.
He emphasized that the Government of Srpska was also ready to freeze the price of flour, and that the problem was the raw materials imported by the Republic of Srpska and BiH.
“The Republic of Srpska is supplied with gas at the price of 365 dollars per thousand cubic meters, which was agreed with the Russian partners, and the price on the stock exchanges today is 2,200 euros. The price of electricity, for 80 percent of businessmen who have two years contracts which are valid until the end of this year, has remained the same, i.e. 39.5 euros per megawatt-hour, while the price on stock exchanges is 300 euros,” added the Prime Minister of Srpska.
According to him, the total inflation in the Republic of Srpska in January this year was 6.2 percent, and salaries were increased by 8.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
The Prime Minister Višković said that the Government of the Republic of Srpska was ready to help entrepreneurs who had direct damage due to the conflict in Ukraine, and that it was necessary to introduce a differentiated VAT rate in BiH, i.e. to exempt basic foodstuffs from taxes.
He reiterated that the measures of the Government of Srpska significantly stabilized the banking sector and stated that payment transactions with Russia would be resolved very soon.
“This is very important if we take into account the fact that one hundred million KM of deposits were withdrawn from Sberbank in just one day. That is why it is important to us that Nova Bank purchased Sberbank,” said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković.
He reminded that the Government of Srpska would pay a one-time aid of 100 KM to unemployed demobilized combatants and that it provided more than 20 million KM for the purchase of basic foodstuffs, as well as that “Elektroprivreda” would procure diesel fuel for thermal power plants.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska Pero Ćorić said that businessmen were facing problems due to the situation in Ukraine, but that the Government of Srpska was doing everything to overcome those problems.
“People feel uncertainty because the trade in goods has been stopped. As a result, the prices of cereals, oil and consumer goods have risen globally. That is why representatives of the Government of the Republic of Srpska have presented us with solutions that are of high quality and which can stop the negative trends,” says Ćorić.
He stated that many things did not depend on the Government of Srpska and that part of the problem could be solved by coordination with the level of BiH, and that there was no sector in the economy not facing problems due to the conflict in Ukraine.
“The price of gas will negatively affect the price of raw materials and goods that come to us from Germany, and the problem is also the rise in prices of oil and oil derivatives. The problem is that we have to reserve the goods for the next five, six months or a year, which leads to a decrease in liquidity and burdens the economy,” said Ćorić.
The Chairman of the Group for Trade in Oil and Oil Derivatives of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska Dragan Trišić said that the information that the entry prices of these goods were 3 KM and that there were big oscillations in the price of a barrel of oil was incorrect, and expressed hope that the market would soon be stabilized.
The meeting, which was held at the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska, was also attended by the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Srpska, Zora Vidović, and the Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska, Petar Đokić.
