– Unlike European countries that conducted campaigns for their products through their retail chains upon Croatia’s entry into the EU, Croatia did not seize the opportunity and greet Europe. Why, for example, did Spar not take 10 Croatian products and create a campaign in Austria as a greeting for Croatia’s entry into the EU – stated Ljerka Puljić, Senior Executive Vice President of Agrokor and President of the Trade Association at HGK at the professional conference Magros organized by the portal Suvremena trgovina, where the fate of Croatian trade and the food industry after entering the EU was discussed today at the headquarters of Kraš.
Puljić mentioned Spar because the General Director of the company, Helmut Fenzl, participated in Magros, as well as assistants to the ministers of economy and agriculture, finance, food, and domestic and foreign trade sectors. Puljić emphasized that after the abolition of borders, foreign retail chains that buy globally began to import their brands into Croatia more aggressively and intensified their brand campaigns.
– You would be surprised how many foreign producers visited Agrokor to place their products on the shelves of Konzum. They legitimately expect that their products, of which Croatian consumers have never heard, will be included in the assortment. Regardless of how important export is to us, if we do not protect our share in the domestic market, we will not achieve development – said Puljić, reflecting on the necessity of greater connection between producers and traders who share the same fate.
The key elements of development and competitiveness are, in her opinion, product differentiation, innovative products, and investment in technology.
Namely, the problem with Croatian products is that they are export-uncompetitive. Boris Cota, advisor to the president for the economy, emphasized in his presentation that Croatia ranks 37th in Europe in terms of the complexity of export products, on par with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Bulgaria.
– Croatian products generally have low added value and cannot be compared to German products, which have invested much more knowledge and technology. The problem of weak competitiveness of peripheral countries like Croatia lies in the types of products for export, not in labor costs and productivity. Moreover, all food products produced in Croatia are also produced by other countries – emphasized Cota.
