Until a few months ago, farmers in Kosovo said that around 30 percent of fresh milk remained unsold. Among other factors, they attributed this situation to competition from products made with powdered milk and vegetable fats.
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Following the Government’s decision to restrict the use of these ingredients in the dairy industry, some farmers say that the market is showing signs of improvement.
Figures from the Association of Milk Producers, obtained by Radio Free Europe, also show an increase in the amount of milk sold by farmers.
During the first six months of this year, the Association’s partner farmers collected and sold more than 45 million liters of milk. During the same period last year, the amount was around 35 million liters.
Meanwhile, the value of imports of palm oil and powdered milk has also declined.
Arbnor Binakaj, a farmer from the outskirts of Gjakova, looks after around 40 cows and produces between 270 and 300 liters of milk every day.
He says that in previous years, uncertainty over the sale of his production had made him hesitant to invest in and expand his farm.
According to him, recent developments have changed the situation.
“We have gone through occasional crises and periods when there was no market for milk. Now there are signs of stability, and milk is no longer being left unsold. For this reason, I will increase my investments and production capacity, because until now palm oil and powdered milk have replaced our fresh product,” Binakaj told Radio Free Europe.
His plan is to increase the number of cows from 40 to 100, although the realization of this investment will also depend on the continuation and implementation of the measures adopted.
“The Government should keep the measures it has taken in force, because they give farmers security, prospects and stability,” Binakaj said.
Xhevdet Morina, a farmer from Rogova in the Has region, also expects changes in the market. He has around 70 cows and produces up to 900 liters of milk a day.
However, Morina believes that banning or restricting palm oil and powdered milk is not sufficient in itself.
He calls for buyers to be clearly informed about the composition of the products they purchase.
“In stores, products containing vegetable fats should be clearly separated and labeled from those containing animal fats, so that consumers know exactly what they are buying,” Morina told Radio Free Europe.
The Government’s measures were introduced following farmers’ complaints that a large quantity of fresh milk was failing to find buyers.
On April 28, the Ministry of Agriculture approved a package of restrictions for the dairy market aimed at protecting domestic production and consumers.
The package provides for clearer categorization and labeling of products, bans the mixing of fresh milk with products containing powdered milk or palm oil, and includes inspections along with laboratory analyses.
Powdered milk was also included in the excise scheme.
However, the new rules do not mean that every product containing vegetable fats or powdered milk has been permanently banned.
Operators using these ingredients must meet the new licensing, categorization and labeling requirements. If the composition does not justify such a designation, these products may not be sold as traditional dairy products.
Inspections carried out after the measures came into force uncovered inconsistencies in the market.
At the beginning of August, the Food and Veterinary Agency announced that approximately 20 percent of dairy product samples differed in their actual composition from the information stated on the label.
In most cases, the presence of undeclared palm oil was identified.
The FVA said that operators using palm oil or powdered milk must obtain special licenses. Their products also may not be sold under traditional designations such as “milk,” “cheese,” “cottage cheese” or “cream.”
Following these decisions, the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation began inspections at stores, warehouses and importers, as well as among wholesalers and retailers.
Businesses were asked to remove from their shelves products in which the responsible authorities had found inconsistencies.
Radio Free Europe asked the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation for information on the amount of products removed from the market, but the Ministry did not respond to the request.
Some dairy products that were previously part of the selection are now missing from stores.
Data from Kosovo Customs provide another indication of changes in this sector.
During the January-July period, the value of palm oil and powdered milk imports was lower than during the same period last year.
In the first seven months of this year, Kosovo imported palm oil worth around 2.3 million euros. During the same period in 2025, imports amounted to around 3 million euros.
The difference became more pronounced after May.
From May to July alone, palm oil imports were around 270 thousand euros lower than during the same months of the previous year.
However, these figures do not prove that the decline in imports is a direct consequence of the government measures.
Palm oil is also used outside the food industry, including in the cosmetics sector.
Therefore, the change in the total value of imports of this product cannot be attributed solely to the dairy market.
A decline was also recorded in powdered milk imports.
Its value fell from around 1.8 million euros in the first seven months of 2025 to approximately 1.3 million euros during the same period this year.
Naser Bajraktari, chairman of the Association of Milk Producers, believes that the measures could make it easier for farmers to sell fresh milk.
He expects restrictions on palm oil and alternative products in dairies to increase demand for locally produced milk. According to him, the full impact of these measures may become more apparent in the coming period.
Bajraktari says that farmers have the ability to increase production and meet a larger share of market demand.
Radio Free Europe also contacted several processing companies that use fresh milk as a raw material.
Some of the companies, which asked not to be identified, said they had increased their purchases of fresh milk but did not provide figures for the increase.
Other companies said they had temporarily halted production of certain items until they met the licensing requirements.
Despite farmers’ optimism, the industry does not yet regard the change as a lasting trend.
Gani Durmishi of the Kosovo Dairy Industry Association says that some companies still have reserves of unsold products and that demand for fresh milk has not increased significantly.
He says sales of some products, without specifying which ones, have fallen by as much as 50 percent.
Durmishi links the decline to uncertainty among consumers following inspections and the discovery of undeclared ingredients.
He calls on the FVA to publish which domestic products have passed the analyses and meet safety standards. According to him, such information would help restore consumer confidence.
Durmishi also confirms that some factories have temporarily suspended production of certain items containing palm oil or powdered milk until they obtain licenses and complete categorization in line with the new requirements.
According to him, the industry’s main difficulty is not processing but selling finished products.
The industry has the capacity to process around one million liters of milk a day, while it currently processes up to 300 thousand liters.
This highlights the paradox of Kosovo’s dairy market.
Domestic production is not sufficient to meet all consumption needs.
At the same time, the industry says it is operating far below its processing capacity.
Nevertheless, farmers have reported that some fresh milk has failed to find buyers.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, production in Kosovo covers only around 66 percent of market needs, while the remainder is supplied through imports.
During 2024, Kosovo’s dairy industry produced products worth 135.2 million euros.
At the same time, the number of dairy cows in the country has declined.
In 2024, Kosovo had 126,549 dairy cows, or 3,348 fewer than the previous year, when there were 129,897.
Farmers say that one of the reasons for this decline is prolonged uncertainty in the market.
To encourage production, the Ministry of Agriculture provides farmers with a subsidy of 90 euros per year for each cow. For every liter of milk, they receive between 2 and 7 cents, depending on quality.
Although Kosovo imports around one-third of the dairy products it consumes, local farmers have faced difficulties selling their production. This shows that the problem is not determined solely by the amount of milk produced.
Prices, the use of substitute products, imports, the way the industry is supplied with raw materials and the market’s ability to absorb domestic production are elements of a more complex chain. / RFE
