The Osijek Commercial Court will decide within three days whether to initiate bankruptcy proceedings for the agricultural-food company Đakovština d.d., it was concluded at today’s hearing to examine the conditions for initiating bankruptcy in that company.
The proposal to initiate bankruptcy was submitted by the workers through the Agricultural Union, and today it was supported by all members of the Management Board and Hypo Bank, as the largest creditor. The bankruptcy proposers stated that the company’s debt for unpaid wages to workers from October to December last year amounts to about nine million kuna, for unpaid taxes and contributions over the past two years about 36 million kuna, and the current blockage of the current account amounts to 224.8 million kuna. The proposal to initiate bankruptcy was opposed by representatives of associations of family farms, cooperatives, and the subsidiary company Đakovština d.o.o. The President of the Association Brazda, Mato Brlošić, reported receiving a letter from the Office of Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor with an order to the relevant ministries and institutions to hold a meeting to discuss the situation and propose measures to the Government to resolve the situation in the company.
He added that there are indications that the meeting could be held in the coming days and therefore proposed postponing the initiation of bankruptcy until January 28. The proposal to postpone bankruptcy was also supported by a member of the Management Board of the subsidiary company Đakovština d.o.o., Radomir Blažević, stating that a Government session should be held by the end of January, where a discussion on the company’s situation is expected. The County Commissioner of the Agricultural Union, Šime Orešković, insisted on initiating bankruptcy, assessing that bankruptcy with restructuring and the current initiation of production is the only way out for the company. He stated that he has no knowledge that the Government will discuss Đakovština at its session, and that at a meeting in the Ministry of Economy at the end of last year, attended by representatives of other ministries, the Croatian Parliament, and HFP, he was told that the company in its current form, due to large debts and blockage, cannot be rehabilitated. He added that they received the same response from potential strategic partners with whom discussions have been held in the meantime, including Agrokor and the Osijek company Žito. Judge Tihomir Kovačević concluded that he will make a final decision on whether bankruptcy will be initiated within the legal deadline of three days and will deliver it in writing to the parties in the proceedings. (H)
