UNMIK ON AIR

3 November 2003

“Foreign VS Local products”

(Valon A. Syla)

Hello and Welcome to UNMIK on Air with Martin Redi and Eranda Bobaj.

Of the 5000 to 10,000 products available in most Prishtina supermarkets only 10 to 15 percent are produced domestically. These local products are new for Kosovan consumers, but the lack of marketing means that most of them are virtually unknown.

For example, there is a variety of milk products on offer which people are quite happy to purchase, but their expiry date is too soon so in many cases the consumer prefers to buy an imported product that has a longer shelf life.

Research done by RiInvest on the consumption of domestic products also showed that consumers have a decided preference for brand names. Researcher Besa Zogaj.

Besa Zogaj: Consumers would rather buy products with a famous mark (logo), than domestic products. Some of our domestic products for example oil and water from their design, quality and packaging, are similar to those imported. Nonetheless, clients prefer to buy imported products, even if domestic articles are cheaper.”

One company that has managed to stave off foreign competition is Mish Kosova – their dried sausage and other meat products are extremely popular and manager Ilir Kamberaj, is one of the rare satisfied producers in Kosovo.

Ilir Kamberaj: We kept the tradition and saved the old name “The Bosnian Sausage which is very well known to Kosovan consumers. This is a smoked dried sausage that is cooked for 28 days in the oven. So we changed the logo and kept the old name, now all the consumers know that this product is produced in Prizren.

But when the quality is in question, nobody asks for the price. Domestic mineral water is considered a desirable product by Kosovan consumers and is always preferable to the imported variety. Those that come well packaged are also in great demand. The only chocolate producer in Kosovo, Gëzim Haxhia owner of the Mozart Chocolate Factory, says packaging is very important for marketing.

Gëzim Haxhia: The designer in our factory comes up with the concept, but unfortunately the material has to be sent outside Kosova to be finalized, it is much cheaper than doing it here. So we send the slides to Turkey and then we import the packaging material.”

The Mozart chocolate factory produces snazzily packaged boxes but most domestic producers have very simple ones, and this does tend to have an impact on sales.

The Alliance of Kosovar Businesses is concerned about the lack of awareness of local products on offer. They also feel that consumers and producers have insufficient knowledge about the fiscal policies in Kosovo. They want to organize a debate to see how best they can promote and protect domestic products. Mentor Thaqi from the AKB

Mentor Thaqi: Many of the fiscal and trading policies are not in the favor of domestic producers and we are aware of the huge competition. Considering that most of the neighboring countries in the region financially support their own producers, it is hard to remain competitive.

The main obstacles for domestic producers, stresses Thaqi, are unfair competition, the lack of laws, high taxes and the lack of access to credits.

Gëzim Haxhia: Unfair competition means the entry or domination of goods from other countries; they do not pay taxes in their countries for example the goods that get in from Serbia and Montenegro, they pay only 1 percent tax. And domestic producers that import the goods from Macedonia pay around 26 percent taxes. This is what is meant by unfair competition.

One of the main recommendations for local companies to be competitive, according to RiInvest’s research, is that their products need to be in line with international standards, with emphasis on quality and durability.

This, says RiInvest, would enable them to be more competitive with imported goods and expand their export possibilities. But the domestic producers are in big trouble if their products continue to be unknown.

One logo for all locally produced goods – that’s an idea being floated by the Alliance of Kosovar Businesses. Nexhat Hasani.

Nexhat Hasani: The creation of a joint logo is a good idea and I liked it, but we should be careful as to who will supervise that logo; I think there is a need for a new working group that will protect the logo, because I’m afraid that the logo could be abused and companies whose products are not of good quality could shelter under the logo.”

But one thing is certain – high quality products will increase the confidence of Kosovan consumers in locally produced goods. Competition amongst Kosovan producers is another ingredient for better quality. The recipe appears simple – well then, just do it, as another famous brand name cum slogan has it!

And that’s all we have time for in this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.