The online catalog of Croatian products aims to convince buyers and public procurement clients that there are domestic products that do not differ in quality and price from foreign ones, was presented on Tuesday at the Osijek County Chamber by the director of the Industry and IT Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Tajana Kesić Šapić.
The first phase of the project, which is the filling of the catalog, is currently underway. Once there are more than two thousand products in it, a campaign targeting clients will begin, announced Kesić Šapić. The Croatian Chamber of Economy believes that domestic companies have the potential to earn through the public procurement system, as a large influx of funds from European funds is expected.
– With the help of the catalog, we want to inform and work on raising awareness among clients, which are mainly local government units, ministries, and utility companies, that there are products in Croatia that are more competitive in quality and price than imported ones, said Kesić Šapić.
Domestic producers in the catalog have the opportunity to present their products, not only descriptively but also with technical specifications and cost items, and in this way, all Croatian products are intended to be presented in one place, connecting small and medium-sized enterprises and generally increasing their share in public procurement processes. According to data presented at the event, the annual value of public procurement in Croatia exceeds 40 billion kuna, which is almost 13 percent of GDP. In tenders, it was stated that about 97 percent of Croatian companies pass, but that this percentage does not reflect the actual number of domestic producers, as every company registered in Croatia is considered Croatian, regardless of the origin of ownership.
