UNMIK ON AIR

March 16th 2004

“Ketchup’s Market”

(Valon Syla & Sevim Mecihan)

 

 

SLUG:  Ketchup is one of the most popular condiments used in Kosovo. As the economy is slowly stabilizing- imported ketchup is now competing with domestic varieties.  But which variety- domestic or imported- do restaurants and households in Kosovo prefer?  As Kosovo citizens are becoming more conscious about purchasing power and focused on stabilizing the economy- what affect does it have on domestic enterprises?

 

Hello and Welcome to UNMIK on Air

 

If you decide to order a sandwich in any fast food establishment in Kosovo it’ll be most likely be served with a generous helping of ketchup. This, according to some waiters in Kosovo, is because in many fast food restaurants, costumers demand nearly every dish to be served with ketchup. Also in most mini markets in Kosovo you can find several brands of imported ketchup, along with domestic varieties, which tend to be a little more expensive than imported ketchup.

 

“FATI” is a well-known fast food chain that has several burger shops in Prishtina. Besim is one of FATI’s senior chefs:

 

Besim: We are using  ‘Idea ketchup”, which is produced domestically and is of a higher grade, but also a bit more expensive. Before we used ketchups imported from Bulgaria. Our shops go through some 8 kilos of ketchup per day.

 

Ketchup is a major item in most Kosovan kitchens, but producing it in Kosovo costs more than importing it, according to Ismet Zeqiri owner of the new ketchup factory  “IDEA”.

 

Ismet Zeqiri: The biggest obstacle against us, like many other producers is the raw material entering Kosovo as a final product, paying its high custom duties and VAT; our next problem is the smuggling which is a problem also for other producers, the goods are coming in here through different channels, so we cannot compete with those prices.

 

Economist Naim Gashi says that food producers in Kosovo are not on equal footing with other producers in the Balkans. Gashi says the reason is that the economic policies of neighboring countries are more sophisticated and assist their businesses and manufacturers, while the economic situation in Kosovo does not provide the same assistance.

 

 Naim Gashi: “All the countries of the region like Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro; assist their local food producers, releasing them from the import tax on raw materials and technology needed for starting their production. In Kosovo it’s the opposite, because everything is taxed in the same manner, no matter if it is milk, produce or imported cars.”

 

Naim Gashi believes that food producers in Kosovo should have more support from the PISG and UNMIK saying this assistance this would have a direct impact on the overall living standard of the population in Kosovo.  Gashi says that if the current situation is allowed to continue, it will create an imbalance in the Kosovan market, further demoralizing local producers who are struggling to create an industry in Kosovo:

 

 “Idea” is a private, commercial and production Company established in 1993 by the Zeqiri couple, Ismet and Zada. Although at the beginning they mostly dealt with trade their main aim was to start producing ketchup and mayonnaise.  Finally last year they managed to do this. Today “IDEA” provides nearly 50 percent of the Kosovan mini-markets with its “Idea” brand ketchup and mayonnaise.

 

Despite the current business conditions in Kosovo, Ismet Zeqiri says he is not demoralized. Zeqiri believes that the only way to compete in the Kosovan Market is with quality products.  Zeqiri hopes that Kosovans will soon prefer the quality of his food products over other brands.

 

Ismet Zeqiri: We are not sorry at all that we began this business, the only thing that I’m sorry for is that we didn’t start earlier; my message for the end would be that I believe that Kosovars travel a lot and saw and tasted different products outside, and I believe that they will evaluate in the best way the quality.  I believe that in the future we will appear in the market beside lots of different products.

 

Today IDEA has the ability to employ people to work one shift with few machines, even so IDEA still manages to produce nearly 80 thousand kilograms of ketchup and some 50 thousand kilograms of mayonnaise per month.  IDEA is now in the process of expanding its condiment offerings and are planning to introduce “Idea mustard” to the Kosovan Market.  Zada and Ismet Zeqiri hope that Kosovan Producers will have competitive prices in the market outside of Kosovo as they aspire to export their products.

 

We wish Zada and Ismet the best of luck. And that was all from this edition of UNMIK on Air, Thanks for listening. Goodbye.