Speaking to the press, Doko thus refuted claims by representatives of various farmers' associations who have been protesting for months, asking for the reintroduction of duties on agricultural products imported from neighbouring countries.
Doko said his conclusion was based on today's government session. The Council of Ministers considered and adopted an analysis of the implementation of bilateral free trade agreements.
The minister said the analysis showed there had been no decrease in the import of agricultural products on which, at farmers' requests, duties were recently temporarily reintroduced. Customs duties were reimposed on about three per cent of Croatian imports.
Doko said that although more money had been collected from the duties, the funds were not used to stimulate domestic production.
He added the cause of farmers' problems lay in poor legal provisions and the lack of an appropriate assistance policy.
According to the minister, Bosnia has no other choice but to adopt European Union standards in this area, namely free trade and appropriate incentives for domestic production.