Croatian agricultural production varies from year to year.
According to the latest report of the Central Bureau of Statistics, during the last year the production all major kinds of fruits and vegetables in Croatia has decreased. Compared to 2014, 15,900 tons of watermelons have been produced or 38 percent less than in the previous year, 1,700 tons of fresh kidney beans and pods or 34 percent less, 45 percent less cherries, 10 percent less melon, and the list goes on. On the other hand, tomato production has jumped 85 percent last year, and the production of olives soared for as much as 220 percent – 28,267 tons in comparison with 8,840 tons in the previous year, reports Večernji List on April 5, 2016.
Farmer Dragutin Dukić said that the causes are different. For example, watermelons and melons have been faced with the competition from Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria with their lower prices at the supermarket chains. Kidney beans and other legumes have been hit by the bad weather. However, Dukić is convinced that Croatia is still a "God-given land" for legumes, but they should be planted in mountainous areas where there is less humidity.
"We are increasing our production of peas, peppers, cauliflower, carrots... because we are convinced that it will pay off. Trends are changing. People want to know what they are buying and from where. They are also asking for produce to be delivered to their homes, because they do not want to buy at the market from the middlemen", said Dukić, who agrees with the Minister of Agriculture Davor Romić that the cost-effective and competitive production has to be increased and that Croatia should import only the food which it cannot economically produce on its own.
Croats would then probably consume less than 45 kilograms of imported fruit and less than about 28 kilograms of imported vegetables that has travelled thousands of kilometres before it reached their tables. "But this is only possible if we introduce more order to the market so that retailers are not importing below the threshold of profitability, thus destroying the local production", Dukić said.
