Kučić: We are seeking a two-year moratorium on the repayment of loans to HBOR

Fishermen will seek a two-year moratorium on the repayment of loans to HBOR, the introduction of a zero rate for concessions, and a return of monitoring on concessions from four to one time per year, which would significantly financially assist fishermen.

These are just some of the demands presented today at the Croatian Chamber of Economy in Zagreb by Miro Kučić, advisor to the president of HGK for maritime affairs, fisheries, and islands, and president of the Association of Fisheries and Fish Processing of HGK, although it was announced that all demands would be presented. He pointed out the very difficult situation of fishermen in Croatia, stating, among other things, with a dose of bitterness and sarcasm, that fishermen are punished for their situation because they have been ‘cooperative all these 20 years, because they are exporters, and because it is the only sector in agriculture and the processing industry that has increased production.’

– Only incentives in fisheries truly stimulate production. New saltworks, factories, and farms have been opened, and this is a good system of incentives. However, fishermen are paid by the kilogram, unlike farmers who are paid by the hectare, and I must remind you that fishermen, in almost half of their outings due to bad weather or other conditions, do not catch fish, while costs remain the same – complained Kučić. This does not mean, he adds, that the incentives are poorly designed, but he warns that in a sea of illogical incentives, these logical ones still harm fishermen. Furthermore, only 60 percent of incentives for the third and fourth quarters of last year have been paid, and the state has not reimbursed capital investments either.

He warned that the fleet built from the state program, which Croatian fishermen no longer need to be ashamed of, does not serve its purpose because fishermen lack ports, moorings, landing sites, and cold chains. Domestic fishermen have been left to market fish to tuna farmers and some canned fish producers, and although tuna farming in the nineties saved fisheries after the collapse of a large number of fish processing factories, this is not the case today. Namely, Kučić said, the recession has caused the price of tuna in Japan, the largest consumer in the world, to drop by 38 percent, while in Croatia, the selling price of small tuna for farming has dropped by 42 percent.

Therefore, the price of inputs, namely the blue fish that tuna is fed, had to be lowered as well. Additionally, farmers have not paid fishermen for their catch because wholesalers have not paid them either, and it has even happened that farmers receive a different product for the fish. As a culprit for the poor state of fisheries, he also mentioned the Croatian National Bank, which, with an unrealistic exchange rate of the kuna, stifles export-oriented Croatian fisheries. – The only bright spot is HBOR, which has invested 30 million kuna in the fleet, but it can no longer finance like it used to – concluded Kučić, stating that all public demands will be presented tomorrow, and next week he will request a meeting with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and Minister of Agriculture Petar Čobanković. (Edis Felić)