Impact of Agrokor Crisis Alarms Bosnia's Leaders

Thousands of jobs in Bosnia, where unemployment is already high, may be in jeopardy owing to continued uncertainly over the future of Croatian biggest private company, Agrokor, which is stuggling with debt and liquidity issues.

Agrokor's financial woes have sent shockwaves throughout several Balkan countries; apart from exerting massive influence on Croatia's economy, the company employs about 20,000 people in neighboring Bosnia and in Serbia.

It is estimated that suppliers and companies for major Slovenian retailer Mercator - which Agrokor bought in 2014 - employ another 70,000 in Slovenia.

Agrokor's eight daughter companies operating in Bosnia, including one of the biggest retailers, Konzum, now owe hundreds of millions of euros to suppliers in Bosnia, Bosnia's Foreign Trade Minister Mirko Sarovic told local media on Thursday.

"We are talking about a debt of at least 250 million Bosnian Marks [127 million euros] and this merits action by [Bosnia's state] institutions, as well as by entity-level institutions and the Council of Ministers," Sarovic said.

Sarovic said he had discussed the issue with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers [the Bosnian government] Denis Zvizdic and with Finance Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda - and they had asked for a meeting with the management of Agrokor's companies in Bosnia in order to determine the extent to which Agrokor's crisis was affecting them.

The meeting is expected to take place within this week, as Sarovic emphasized the urgency of the matter on Thursday.

The government of Bosnia's larger entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegoviona, also discussed the issue on Thursday. Federation entity leaders also want to meet the management of Agrokor's Bosnian companies to determine...