The Dairy Sector Will Receive One Hundred Million Kuna More This Year Than Last Year

Minister of Agriculture Davor Romić stated on Monday in Bjelovar that the problem in the dairy sector has been recognized and that this sector will receive one hundred million kuna more this year than last year from the state budget.

“The dairy sector will receive one hundred million kuna more this year than last year. The problem in the dairy sector has been recognized and it will receive more money from the state budget,” said Romić, who met in Bjelovar with agricultural producers and representatives of dairy and livestock associations from the Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

The discussion focused on the accumulated problems and alarming state in the milk and livestock production sector, and farmers warned that Croatian dairy farmers are losing 700 kuna per cow and one kuna per liter of milk every day, which is causing many livestock farmers to sell off cows, cease production, and close farms. Only this year, as stated, Croatian livestock farmers are raising four thousand fewer cows than last year, and annual milk production has fallen from 680 million liters to below 500 million.

Dairy farmers believe that the main causes of this are milk imports, low purchase prices, and unfair trading practices, and they are calling on the government for urgent short-term measures to help stabilize the market.

“We have already taken some steps to alleviate the difficult situation,” said Romić, adding that the first step is related to incentives, which are being paid out these days, and more will be done on measures for young farmers. 

What we must do as soon as possible is to pass a law on unfair trading practices. It is the role of the government to regulate the system and processes that take place in this sector. The law will be prepared by the summer break and then proceed to the procedure, announced Romić. 

Livestock farmers expressed concern that fattening cattle, which has been one of the significant economic branches in the Bjelovar area, could completely disappear, and they proposed 23 measures for the revitalization of this agricultural production sector.

“Strategically, we must know what our goals are and what our strategic productions are, and livestock farming is certainly one of the strategic productions in Croatia, so we will definitely include it in the agricultural production strategy that we have started to work on,” announced Romić.

The minister today visited young farmer Mihael Skender in Nova Plošćica, who is engaged in fattening cattle, and in Patkovac, the family farm of Snježana Šolčić, which is engaged in milk production.