July the 7th, 2022 - Croatian tomatoes are set to hit the market and the shelves boasting a brand new ''proven quality'' (dokazana kvaliteta) label, much like other products have done over the last couple of years.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after the Ministry of Agriculture passed the Decision on the recognition of the ''proven quality'' label for vegetables, the request for the recognition of the same label was submitted by the Association of Associations of Croatian Vegetable Growers.

The first producers who successfully completed the process of confirming the conformity of tomato production with the ''proven quality'' label for vegetables are Belje plus d.o.o. and Fructus glasshouses d.o.o. and soon it will be possible to buy Croatian tomatoes with this label on the market.

Vegetable producers who use the ''proven quality - Croatia/dokazana kvaliteta - Hrvatska'' label must ensure that these vegetables undergo a production process according to very precisely defined criteria in their specification, which includes care for environmental protection through the responsible use of fertilisers and pesticides, the use of the optimal time of harvesting those vegetables, the length of time spent in transport in order to preserve the nutritional value of the product, and the proper selection of the packaging that protects the vegetables from damage during their storage and transport.

It's worth noting that the first sector that recognised the advantage of this system was the fruit production sector, and the request for recognition of the ''proven quality'' label for fruit was submitted by the Croatian Fruit Association, and from October 2021, apples marked with this label could be bought on the market.

Another sector that has also recognised the advantage of this system is the consumption egg sector, and the request for the recognition of the ''proven quality'' label for consumption eggs was submitted by the Poultry Science Association, and consumption eggs marked with this label have been available for purchase on the market since February 2022.

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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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