All serious EU countries have commodity reserves, which are important in many ways, former Minister of Agriculture Budimir Mugosa explains for Gradska TV.
There is already a draft law for the formation of oil reserves in the parliamentary procedure, while the Government is also announcing the formation of commodity reserves for agricultural products, medicines and medical supplies, which is expected to cost the state around €22m.
“Commodity reserves, as it has been emphasized, are necessary in cases of market disturbances, natural disasters, wars… They also serve to influence the prices of agricultural products, as well as their storage,” emphasizes Mugosa and cites the example of potatoes.
He recalls that last year the price of a kilogram of potatoes and a kilogram of tomatoes was €1.5, this year they cost under €0.5. Commodity reserves, says Mugosa, would serve precisely to eliminate the anomalies that appear on the market.
The Ministry of Economic Development states that part of the money from the capital budget will be set aside for the construction of special accommodation facilities for commodity reserves, so that rent is not paid to private individuals, while Mugosa claims that there is no need for this.
He states that a large number of companies owned by the state or the City of Podgorica have certain capacities.
“The Capital has a cold storage facility for 10,000 tons in Mataguzi, which could be used for this purpose. Private companies also have oversized storage capacities, so an adequate solution could be found in this system of private-public partnership”, Mugosa pointed out.
