Over six thousand tons of drugs were imported into Kosovo in the past two years.
Over six tons of various drugs worth over 110 million euros were brought into Kosovo during 2016 and 2017, adding up to an average of 1.7 kilograms of pharmaceuticals per capita, not counting domestically-produced drugs.
According to the collected data, 4.2 tons of drugs entered Kosovo every day between 2016 and 2017.
In 2016, Kosovo imported about 2,989 tons of drugs. That year, the quantity of imported drugs was worth 56.6 million euros, of which 3.5 million euros were collected as taxes at customs.
According to data from Kosovo Customs, in 2016, over 200 tons of antibiotics were imported, 51.9 tons of which contained penicillin or its derivatives.
In 2017, the amount of imported drugs increased, but their monetary value went down. The foreign markets seems to have affected drug prices, making imports cheaper in contrast to 2016.
In 2017, 3,084 tons of drugs entered Kosovo, marking a three per cent increase compared to 2016. The import value of the drugs was about 53.5 million euros, 3.48 million of which were collected as tax.
Kosovo Customs data shows that a significant amount of the medications imported last year, 107.9 tons, contained antibiotics, although there was a 29 per cent decrease as compared to 2016.
The customs categorizes all these pharmaceuticals as retail products rather than products meant for wholesale.
Meanwhile, the value of drugs that are sold without custom stamps is unknown. Earlier this month, border police in Kosovo confiscated 20 thousand euros worth of expired drugs with Serbian customs stickers.