[REVISION HISTORY]

Kosovo dairy sector regulatory and legal disputes

Updated 4 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-10 11:53 UTC → 2026-08-10 20:33 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026, Kosovo’s dairy producers remained unable to export to the EU because the Agency of Food and Veterinary (AUV) lacks authorization to issue EU-recognised veterinary certificates. This has left exporters confined to domestic and regional markets, resulting in surplus milk and under-used capacity. Regulatory scrutiny intensified following inspections between April and July 2026, which identified 93 violations in 495 sampled items, most notably undeclared palm oil in 46 products. On 7 August, the Central Market Inspection Authority (IQMT) ordered nine companies, including Vita, to withdraw products containing undeclared plant-origin fats like palm and coconut oil. The AUV reported that 12 Vita products were non-conforming; consequently, the agency placed Vita’s production lines under heightened supervision and halted the manufacture of 26 other products until proper authorization is obtained. Acting Minister of Agriculture Armend Muja stated that inspections revealed vegetable fats had allegedly been substituted for cow’s milk in products such as cheese and cottage cheese. In response, Qumështorja Vita has initiated legal proceedings against the Ministry and the AUV, filing lawsuits in the Supreme, Commercial, and Administrative courts. The company seeks to annul the decision to conduct extraordinary inspections, maintaining that its own analyses prove its milk is pure. Vita continues to argue that authorities have failed to maintain transparency by not publishing specific analysis results within legal timeframes. By 10 August, the IQMT expanded recall efforts to include various brands such as Holla and Graden in Pristina and Prizren. Qumështorja Vita has denied the allegations, claiming the findings are part of a ‘political campaign’ and asserting that its own laboratory results show no palm oil in its milk samples.

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