The Banja Luka Dairy was established in 1953. It was constructed between 1954 and 1956, and was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1969. Initially, it was part of the Agricultural Combine “Mladen Stojanović” from Gradiška, and later became part of the food industry giant AIPK Bosanska Krajina.
Within its premises in Banja Luka, it operated its own restaurant serving its workers. The dairy employed hundreds of workers and was a significant part of the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, during the 1990s, economic units were dismantled, companies were gradually privatized, and by the end of 2004, this Banja Luka company was privatized. The state-owned capital of 66% was sold to the Subotica-based “Mlekara” (“Dairy”) for 500,000 BAM. The value of the dairy, including its machinery and land, was estimated in the millions. The dairy was systematically destroyed, with the process beginning by gradually reducing the purchase of milk from local producers and switching to importing milk from Belgrade’s “Imlek”.
Thus, between 2004 and 2010, over 12 million BAM in debt was accumulated. The following year, the Dairy was closed, ending its 55 years of operation. What remained was land, ideal for residential construction, which was sold to a construction company owned by “Aragosta Invest”, a company led by Veljko Jarić. Recently, it was announced that part of the former Dairy’s site would become the city’s recycling yard. Additionally, the government of the Republic of Srpska announced plans to build a new dairy in Prnjavor, further highlighting that the privatization process was essentially a plundering scheme.
