ZAGREB, 28 Sept, 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) on Tuesday requested a meeting with Mayor Tomislav Tomašević after the announcements that fairs and food festivals could be relocated from the centre of Zagreb caused concern among HPK members.

The HPK president Mladen Jakopović said in a press release that in recent years Zagreb residents have had an opportunity to buy home-made products and locally grown agricultural produce at various events organised in the main square Trg Bana Jelačića.

Lately, we have received information from the organisers of such events and from producers that the new city administration seems inclined to relocate those events to less attractive venues.

That's why the HPK would like to meet with Mayor Tomašević and his aides to discuss the matter and present their position on the short supply chains and the protection of domestic production, Jakopović said.

The HPK is willing to provide the City of Zagreb with all the necessary support to improve, in cooperation with farmers, the availability of locally grown agricultural products to all citizens of Zagreb, in compliance with the EU criteria and the criteria for the protection of urban space.

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ZAGREB, 21 Sept, 2021 - Despite the big risks in the sector - shortage of labour force, age structure and health - primary tobacco production has a future in Croatia, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said on Tuesday at the 21st Tobacco Fields Day, held near Virovitica.

Minister Vučković said that tobacco production is valuable and that in Croatia it has its organisers, relatively secure purchase, the possibility of processing and a closed cycle to the production of almost finished products, which any country would support.

Besides income support, we will endeavour to support all investment initiatives through the rural development programme, said Vučković. She added that the government and ministry advocate retaining support at all levels in the European Union, specifying that an envelope valued at HRK 42 million is envisaged for the tobacco sector, the same as last year.

The Hrvatski Duhani company, which organised Tobacco Fields Day, has 360 producers in Podravina and Slavonia who cultivate 2,700 hectares of tobacco land.

The total annual value of buying tobacco amounts to about HRK 90 million and tobacco is one of the rare agricultural cultures with which Croatia has high competitiveness and a significant production at the EU level, given that Croatia produces about 5% of the EU's total tobacco production.

President of the management board at Hrvatski Duhani Imad Ud-Din Muhammad said that the company was one of the first to introduce sustainability in agriculture in Croatia, which has now been strengthened at the BAT Group level.

We are additionally strengthening investments in environmental protection, health and safety within the entire supply chain, he underscored.

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ZAGREB, 21 Sept, 2021 - Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković has called on fruit and vegetable producers in the Neretva river valley of southern Croatia to form an association in order to increase their competitiveness and presence on the market, her ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.

Vučković met with fruit and vegetable purchasers in the Neretva valley on Monday to discuss wholesale purchases of mandarin oranges this year. The main topic discussed was compliance with the law prohibiting unfair trading practices in the food supply chain.

Producers and purchasers were called upon to agree details of their business relationship to make this business sustainable and ensure that neither party feels deprived of any of their rights.

Vučković noted that the mandarin is very important for the Croatian fruit-growing industry and that its entire production takes place in a relatively small part of the Neretva valley. She said that in the last two years the government had set aside HRK 26 million for mandarin growers alone.

Citing figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the ministry said that 45,245 tonnes of mandarins had been produced in 2010-2020 in the area covering 1,984 hectares, with an average annual yield of 23 t/ha. Last year alone, 24.5 million kilograms of mandarin, worth €11.6 million, was exported, while 5.4 million kilograms, worth €4.3 million, was imported.

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ZAGREB, 14 Sept, 2021 - Croatian Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković has held an online meeting with Chinese Ambassador Xu Erwen to discuss ways of speeding up the procedure to obtain veterinary certificates and possibilities for pork exports to China, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agricultural cooperation with China has intensified since 2006, and thanks to the China+17 initiative and the efforts by the Agriculture Ministry, the protocol on veterinary and public health requirements for dairy products intended for export from Croatia to China was signed in 2019, removing the obstacles to the sale of Croatian dairy products on the Chinese market.

Vučković mentioned Croatian requests towards the Chinese competent authority (GACC) regarding veterinary certificates for pork and pork products, fresh and frozen tuna, honey, beef and poultry, notably the export of tuna, pork and pork products from Croatia to China.

The Croatian ministry is in close communication with the GACC and Croatia is a step closer to getting a positive assessment as a country allowed to export pork and pork products to China, the statement said.

In 2020 the GACC was notified that the World Organisation for Animal Health had recognised Croatia as a country officially free of classic swine fever.

Between 2011 and 2020, with Croatia's entry into the European Union, Croatian agricultural and food exports to China increased ninefold, while at the same time imports from China decreased by more than double. In 2020 alone, the value of agricultural and food exports to China increased by 52% compared with 2019, to nearly €7 million.

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ZAGREB, 10 Sept 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) said on Friday that without concrete and swift measures from the government livestock and milk production would collapse. 

The HPK announced that next week it would again organise meetings of all six committees relating to the livestock sector to examine the situation and propose urgent measures to prevent a collapse of livestock and milk production.

This year has been extremely hard for livestock farmers, whose position on the national and common market is currently affected by the adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the HPK said.

"This year has seen a dramatic rise in prices of raw materials on the global market, including in Croatia. Livestock farmers have seen their costs rapidly increasing since the start of the year, while at the same time they have been selling their products below the asking price because on the common market commodities are offered at dumping prices because of surpluses caused by the COVID-19 crisis," HPK president Mladen Jakopović said.

He added that the structural problems in the national livestock sector and the sharp rise in input prices were compounded by a drought and, in some areas of the country, by the consequences of last year's earthquakes.

A study by the Osijek Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Science has shown that input prices, notably the cost of animal feed, had accounted for about 50% of material costs before their jump in 2021, while currently they exceed 70% in certain sectors. This has resulted in higher prices of cereals, processed cereals and animal feed as well as in losses to the livestock sector.

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ZAGREB, 7 Sept, 2021 - The agriculture strategy envisions further investment in public services in rural areas, with an emphasis on digitisation, irrigation, renewable energy production and increasing energy efficiency, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said at an informal meeting of EU ministers.

In order to succeed in that, it is essential to continue investing in human capital, the minister stressed.

Minister Vučković was taking part in an informal meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which was held in Kranj, Slovenia on Monday and Tuesday. The Agriculture Ministry reported on Tuesday that the central topic of the meeting was strengthening dialogue between urban and rural areas in the EU, with an emphasis on possibilities for their further development.

The long-term vision for the EU's rural areas up to 2040 aims to reverse negative trends affecting rural areas, including depopulation, population ageing and the decline in attractiveness of rural areas as places to live. The vision brings together several policies that go beyond the common agricultural policy (CAP) and require a more integrated and coordinated approach at the EU, national and regional level, the press release says.

In order for the process aimed at strengthening rural areas to succeed, it is necessary to continue investing in human resources, Minister Vučković stressed.

We have to provide funds for investments and help young people to realise their business goals in rural areas and respond to challenges by creating added value, she said.

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ZAGREB, 30 Aug 2021 - The Bjelovar Autumn Fair, which will be held from 3 to 5 September at the Gudovac fair compounds, will include 300 exhibitors.

Local authorities and the fair's executives told a press conference on Monday that the state exhibition of cattle will be held with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture.

 The fair will be opened by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The exhibition will be held outdoors considering epidemiological recommendations.

Entry to the fair will require a COVID certificate of vaccination or negative test, and testing will be available at the fairgrounds. The fair's director Zlatko Salaj estimates that this year's autumn fair would reach about 60% of the level of the record 2019 year.

Bjelovar-Bilogora County Prefect Marko Marušić described the Autumn Fair as a Croatian brand.

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ZAGREB, 29 Aug, 2021 - A newly-built pig breeding centre, the first commercial facility to be built in Sisak-Moslavina County after the 29 December 2020 earthquake, restoring hope of agricultural recovery, was officially opened at Novo Selo Glinsko on Sunday.

The centre was built with the help of donations, and similar centres will be built with the help of EU and national funds to help revitalise agricultural production in the Banovina region.

The centre, located at a family farm owned by Ivo Bradarić,  was opened by Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Tugomir Majdak.

The centre has a capacity of 16 breeding sows and 80 piglets, and it currently has 10 breeding sows, donations by five Slavonian counties, and 24 piglets.

Novo Selo Glinsko is an agricultural community, where co-operative pig breeding has had a long tradition and the new centre is expected to mark the start of agricultural recovery in the earthquake-struck area, said Majdak.

He noted that the centre could serve as a potential model for further reconstruction of commercial farm facilities following the earthquake.

"We intend to enable all family farms in the earthquake-struck area to rebuild their properties," he said.

Glina Mayor Ivan Janković said the centre would serve as a lever of development of the wider area of Glina and enable more farmers to join the newly-established pig breeding co-operative.

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ZAGREB, 19 Aug, 2021 - The agriculture ministry strongly supports fruit growers in efforts to cut production costs and standardise their products and thus boost their competitiveness, which is why the ministry will soon kick off a system of awarding the "Proven Quality - Croatia" label, the ministry said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Minister Marija Vučković and other officials held a meeting with fruit growers  to inform them of the national system designed by the ministry for awarding the above-mentioned label to food products that meet certain requirements. The national system of evaluation of the quality of food products intends to improve competitiveness of local agricultural produce and food products and intensify their promotion.

This will be conducive to better recognisability of those products in retail chains, according to the ministry.

The ministry notes that the reforms as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan envisage the establishment of a logistical infrastructure in fruit and vegetable production and the construction of logistics and distribution centres for fruits and vegetables.

The Croatian Fruit Growing Association assesses that in 2021, the production of apples will reach 65,000 tonnes, the ministry said in a press release, among other things.

The apple export has jumped by 71% year-to-date in comparison to the corresponding period of 2020, while import has increased by 3..2%.

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 ZAGREB, 17 Aug, 2021 - An association of Karst cattle farmers on Tuesday accused the Agriculture Ministry and the Hrvatske Šume (HŠ) forest management company of obstructing pastoral farming in the Karst and thus causing depopulation of Karst areas in Croatia.

The association said that the relevant Croatian laws and regulations were not adjusted to the EU acquis and made it impossible for extensive livestock farming to succeed in the Karst region.

Therefore, the association filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court and the competent administrative court and also sent a letter to the EU Agriculture Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski.

It says that for instance, Karst pastures are defined as land not designated for agricultural purposes.

This leads to a situation that the grazing of the Buša cattle in Lika, that is a native breed of cows in Lika, is banned on the "Bušik" grassland in that mountainous Croatian region, it claims.

The association demands the deep changes in the management of the HŠ company and the ministry.  

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