ZAGREB, 14 July 2022 - The government on Thursday adopted a HRK 1.2 million (€160,000) aid programme for beekeepers to offset the damage caused by mass deaths of bee colonies this spring and a HRK 80 million (€10.6 m) emergency package to help dairy, pig and poultry farmers cope with increased feed and energy prices.

Mass deaths of bees occurred in Međimurje County, Bjelovar-Bilogora County and Virovitica-Podravina County this spring, causing a loss of nearly 2,000 bee colonies and jeopardising the pollination of agricultural crops, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said.

The aim of the programme is to compensate the beekeepers for the losses and ensure continued beekeeping. The beekeepers will be entitled to HRK 860 (€115) per colony.

The programme of emergency measures for dairy, pig and poultry farmers aims to ensure the continuation of primary production in these sectors and contribute to the security of supply of milk, pork, poultry and eggs. The aid will be allocated to micro, small and medium enterprises.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 April 2022 - The government will provide financial assistance to beekeepers in Međimurje after the mass death of bees, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said on Thursday after a government session.

She recalled that the government had helped local beekeepers after the scourge of bees in 2020 when about 40 honey farmers were given 1,300 bee colonies and the aid was worth HRK 1 million.

Vučković said that now the authorities were waiting for the findings of a veterinary inspection to establish whether the mass death was caused by a contagious disease or if the bees were killed by the effects of the use of protective chemical agents. Recently, an estimated 17.5 million bees in about 350 beehives in Međimurje have been found poisoned.

Local apiarists say that the wrong application of protective agents in fruit growing as well as in rapeseed cultivation has led to the mass poisoning of bees.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 9 Oct, 2021 - The Api Green company opened a honey bottling plant in the eastern town of Vukovar on Saturday, the first such plant to be operating according to the HACCP standard in Vukovar-Srijem County.

The plant was opened in the Vukovar Business Incubator as part of Honey Days.

"Beekeepers will now be able to increase the number of beehives and sign a contract with Api Green on honey delivery. The honey delivered to the bottling plant will be analysed and labelled as honey from Croatian apiaries," the head of the Vukovar 91 beekeepers' association, Ivan Dumenčić, said.

HACCP is a system that helps identify and control food safety risks in the food processing industry.

The plant has a maximum bottling capacity of one tonne per day, and Api Green invested nearly €25,000 in it.

"In order to improve the quality of honey, Api Green will purchase honey from registered beekeepers, check it and put it on the market," the company's CEO Božena Miličević said.

For more on business, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.