All Stores Closed in North Kosovo

Shop in Kosovska Mitrovica

All stores in four Serb-populated municipalities in North Kosovo closed in the morning on July 1 due to 100 percent tariffs imposed by Prishtina on the goods coming from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina more than seven months ago. All shops, supermarkets, wholesale stores, catering facilities, storehouses, welding supply stores, bakeries, pharmacies, hair salons, and auto repair shops have been shut down.

“Businesspeople in North Kosovo have decided to close up all stores in North Kosovo in solidarity with colleagues selling foodstuffs, who are most hit by the tariffs imposed by Pristina. The tariffs on the Serbian goods hinder normal functioning of our businesses and we therefore demand they be lifted as soon as possible,” Rados Petrovic of the Association of Businesspeople of North Kosovo has told reporters.  

Petrovic also said that the businesspeople in North Kosovo were expecting a reaction of the international community and also trusted Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who had pledged to help the Serbs to overcome the crisis. He could not specify for how long the stores would remain closed, noting that it would depend on further developments.

Petrovic stressed that bakeries would only be supplying bread to hospitals, the Student dorm and kindergartens. Shelves have been empty of milk and dairy products for several days now, stores have run out of flour, sugar, cooking oil, and bottled water, while the locals have been building up stocks of some goods that are still available at the moment. Long lines have also been reported at filling stations amid the owners’ announcement to stand in solidarity with the others.