The Kosovo government is seeking to curb imports of powdered milk in order to protect domestic production. As a protective measure, Minister of Agriculture Armend Muja said on Tuesday that the government has proposed imposing an excise tax.

At a press conference, Muja also said that an agreement had been signed with Kosovo Customs requiring every imported milk product to undergo two control measures.

Muja said that stores across the country have been found selling mixtures that he described as being “in violation of consumer protection law.”

“We proposed an excise tax on powdered milk to the Ministry of Finance. It was then sent to the government and approved. In our stores, we often see cases of mixtures that I classify as violations of consumer protection law. There are attempts to claim that powdered milk or products mixed with palm oil are derived from fresh milk, which is not true. Yesterday, the decision on border controls was signed. Every package of milk entering the country will be subject to two measures. Laboratory analysis will examine the composition of each package, and every product will be properly classified, with no mixing allowed,” he said.