September the 2nd, 2022 - Croatian olive growers have warned that there will be higher prices to pay for olive oil this year, much like there are higher prices to pay for just about everything else.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this summer's harsh drought also affected olive groves and as such Croatian olive growers who rely entirely on the climate for the success of their crop. There will be problems with the olive crop, and if it still doesn't rain significantly until the harvest season, the fruit will remain small, so Croatian olive growers will get less oil, which could see the end product reach a price of 150 kuna per litre, as reported by N1.

"We're producers of organic olive oil and we produce our oil from three varieties of olives. We have monovarieties of olives, olives and levantines and we also preserve the olives,'' explained Ivan Vicenco, the owner of a family farm (OPG).

Although the lack of precipitation is usually somewhat of an ally for olives, the long-term drought has still left its mark. The fruits are smaller and if they don't manage to swell enough by the time picking is due, the result is naturally less oil.

"Our fruits are somewhat dried out, but they're slowly coming back to life after the rain we had the day before yesterday, and in a way we're now counting down the last month until harvest," added Vicenco. What the harvest will look like also depends on the area where the olive grove is located. Those in rugged areas will suffer the greatest losses.

The president of the Cooperative Association of Dalmatia, Lordan Ljubenkov, says: "We're receiving reports that the olive trees have shriveled up due to the long drought, and where there isn't enough soil to retain the moisture, the olives have already started to fall off, with the trees also suffering some damage. Even where there is soil in the olive groves, in another two weeks, those olive groves will lose their fruit as well,"

Because of that, but also owing to the increase in the price of materials and inflation, every drop that Croatian olive growers produce will become precious. A price increase of 20 to 30 percent is unfortunately expected.

"Croatian olive producers will not see their actual work become more expensive, but the packaging will cost more, as will fuel, transport and the means of protecting the olives themselves. Everything about olive oil and the efforts put into the process by Croatian olive growers will become more expensive, and at the same time the final product, extra virgin olive oil, will also cost more," explained Ljubenkov in an interview for N1.

Vicenco, however, has said he refuses to raise prices, believing that some people have adapted too much to relying solely tourism and have made their product more expensive for no reason whatsoever.

"On the other hand, they forget that there are people around us who use olive oil, who are also our fellow citizens and who will be here even after the tourists leave. Perhaps solidarity should come into it and they should try to be a bit more realistic. In my opinion, a price above 130 kuna for a litre of oil is a kind of robbery," said Vicenco.

In the main Split market, prices range from 80 to 100 kuna, depending on the type of packaging used for the oil. In addition to oil, native seedlings can also be purchased.

"Since I'm a producer, I will try to raise my prices as little as possible, but at the end of the day everything depends on the crop. There's been a drought, the harvest looks good, but the fruit is small, there's been no rain, and everything depends on the rain,'' said Josip Ercegovic from Rogoznica. The biggest concern for Croatian olive growers this season is not the crop, but how much oil they will bring to the market due to the drought.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

March the 28th, 2022 - Inflation is ongoing as the situation in Ukraine following Russian invasion last month continues to escalate. The prices of just about everything imaginable have soared recently, with fuel continuing to be a big issue. Croatian olive oil prices look set to rise, as well.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the country's many olive growers are currently facing quite serious issues as the artificial fertilisers they typically use have become drastically more expensive as inflation continues.

''We've already done the winter fertilisation, and now we're waiting for the rain to start coming before we deal with the spring fertilisation combined with artificial and manure fertilisers,'' explained one of the largest northern Istrian olive growers, Drazen Cernek from Brnozi near Sovinjak, adding that fertiliser prices have skyrocketed. Last year, one tonne stood at around 3,000 kuna, and this year it is a significantly higher 8,000 kuna.

There are olive growers who, owing to that, won't even bother to use artificial fertilisers this year, the prices of which are obviously rising sharply, among other things due to the increase in the price of natural gas, key raw materials. Instead, they'll take their chances and leave everything to "nature".

However, those who are professional olive growers cannot afford to do that, because the proper spring fertilisation of their olives as well as keeping hold of their long-term olive groves is a prerequisite for increasing their yield and fruit quality for the countless Croatian olive oil lovers who make purchases from across the world.

The increase in the price of artificial fertiliser will not only affect the country's olive growers themselves, but also all other producers of agricultural products from cereals to potatoes and vegetables, local portal Glas Istre/The Voice of Istria writes.

The growth of all inputs typically purchased by the nation's many agricultural producers is so great, according to the county head of agriculture, Ezio Pinzan, that only those agricultural producers who have very well-organised production and business operations from start to finish will be able to continue to do business. It will be very difficult for others who don't have the opportunity to really market their Croatian olive oil, which means that they don't have already branded products and customers, ie they cannot achieve a slightly better price.

Not only have fertiliser prices risen due to higher gas prices, but blue diesel has also risen in price, as has electricity.

''Last year, due to the lower yield of olives, the question was whether the price of extra virgin Croatian olive oil would increase, and it was then said that it probably wouldn't, and it didn't. Because, farmers know, one year the yield is a little higher, one year it's a bit lower, and they didn't want to lose any customers by raising their prices. However, I think they will now be forced to do precisely that because these price increases will affect all agricultural products, and olive growing isn't immune to that either.

We hope that there will be a good production year, that there will be fruit, that there will be Croatian olive oil to be had and purchased, we know that it will be of top quality, but the production price of that olive oil will certainly increase the final price for consumers. Now is the opportunity for as many of our agricultural producers as possible to turn to organic farming and to use as few fertilisers as possible,'' Pinzan concluded.

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July the 1st, 2021 - Croatian olive growers and their produce are praised worldwide and are no stranger to a medal or ten. After recently winning yet more recognition and awards in New York, now around 2000 kuna in customs fees need to be paid in order for them to enter Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian olive growers have been wildly successful with their produce, and nobody in Croatia really seems to care all that much about the level of promotion this provides the country that relies so heavily on foreign visitors. A little over one month ago, on the world's largest stage, NYIOOC 2021 in New York, Croatian olive growers "picked up" medals by winning 4th place, just behind the likes of Spain, Italy and Greece.

Nobody can stop writing about them - how could they not when a small country like Croatia participating in the world's production of olive oil with only 0.3 percent, takes the top place in terms of oil quality, reports agroklub.

"It happened because Dalmatians joined the Istrian olive growers in this great competition. The Istrians have confirmed their reputation, and the Dalmatians have proven that they have quality to offer as well,'' commented Dr. Ivica Vlatkovic, who once again won gold medals. Croatian olive growers won 66 gold and 20 silver medals in total.

The typically Croatian and utterly absurd customs clearance charges...

Aware of the fact that by participating in a kind of world championship and receiving the highest awards, they have contributed to Croatia entering the very top of the world in the quality of olive oils, they expect (greater) understanding from the state authorities. Unfortunately, the state authorities in Croatia aren't well known for their understanding, or much else in that regard.

Because, as Zlatko Buric said, the man who united the Solta olive growers and together with them managed to protect the Golden Solta oil at the European Union level, unfortunately there isn't much that can make Croatia an economically successful country. ''We've once again proved that we are at the bottom in terms of organisation,'' reported the aforementioned portal.

"Instead of the Prime Minister or the President contacting us and publicly praising us, giving us some sort of reward for our great success, they want to be parasitic by collecting customs duties on trophies which have been properly obtained and are well-deserved," said Buric and other Croatian olive oil producers and growers.

For each statuette and medal, if something doesn't change in the meantime, almost 2,000 kuna will need to be paid. Olive growers are afraid that they will have to pay VAT, so now they are trying everything in order to be able to prove the meaninglessness and even the illegality of this levy individually with some sort of joint action. Some have already contacted Minister Marija Vuckovic, who "called customs and promised that everything would be settled'', but we're yet to see if that occurs.

For more, follow our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

There's no denying that Croatian olive oil is second to none, and we're not the only ones who think it. Croatian produce has won award after award and the long coastal traditions of olive growing, picking and harvesting in Croatia are worthy of just as much praise as the final results of that hard work are.

As Morski writes on thr 4th of April, 2019, the respected Brač brand of olive oil, Brachia, has launched Brachia Kids, the first Croatian olive oil made just for children of kindergarten and elementary school age, reports Journal.hr.

''Brachia Kids brings the fresh and intriguing taste of organic olive cultivation from ecological [olive] growing from the island of Brač. These flavours are ideal for children when it comes to falling in love with the taste of olive oil. This new product is intended for parents who understand the healing properties and the great nutritional value(s) of olive oil, and who want to introduce it to their children's diet,'' said Leopold Botteri, the co-manager of the Brachia cooperative.

Part of the main role in popularising the consumption of olive oil for children will also be played by its attractive packaging, which has been made by Izvorka Jurić and Jurica Kos.

''We've designed the packaging so that the product is attractive to children, fun to use, and also educational, in order to develop their awareness of the importance of the regular use of olive oil. The body of a glass vial (0.25 dcl) has been partially placed in a box that, together with the black tip of the bottle, forms a crayon, and within which six crayons are actually housed. Following the dissolution of the box, there is a fun colouring book with illustrations of olive trees and leaves and various tasks for children to complete. Olive oil nourishes the body, and the puzzle and colouring on the packaging, acts as food for the brain. Together, they make a complete product for the healthy development of children,'' explained packaging designer Izvorka Jurić.

In addition to the premium olive oil of Brachia Maslina and the latest Brachia Kids product - Izvorka Jurić has designed products for the lines of Brachia sort oils, ecoBrachia and Brachia & Friends. All of these products, including Brachia Kids' olive oil for children, are now available for purchase in UJE stores across the Republic of Croatia.

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