[Business Scene] Vupik Plus Sees Increased Yields, but War in Ukraine Reduces Traffic on the Danube

In the area of Vukovar-Srijem County, there are two major agricultural companies of Fortenova. PIK Vinkovci Plus reduced its revenue by as much as 45 percent last year, but also its loss (from 70 million kuna to ten million). Vupik Plus, on the other hand, achieved a profit last year after a loss in 2020, with a revenue increase of 12 percent.

Vupik Plus and PIK Vinkovci Plus together generated more than 830 million kuna in revenue last year, employing around 900 people, and represent the agricultural backbone of the county. When the business results of Belje Plus, which ‘holds’ Baranja, are added, Fortenova’s Slavonian agricultural complex is worth 2.4 billion kuna (in revenues from 2021), has about 2600 employees, and cultivates an area of 33,500 hectares. This is also the main reason for the great interest in a possible sale of Fortenova’s agricultural business.  

Vukovar’s Vupik is celebrating 77 years of operation this year. The company has been tied to the area of Vukovar-Srijem County since its inception, specifically the surroundings of Vukovar where arable land, vineyards, farms, and production facilities are located. The business is focused on agricultural activities, primarily crop production, vegetable growing, viticulture, winemaking, as well as pig and cattle breeding.

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Vupik vineyards

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In Vupik Plus, they believe that the business of the past year was most marked by the negative correlation of prices of primary agricultural products such as wheat and corn in relation to the prices of pig and cattle production. When the rise in energy prices is added, it is clear that they had to seek savings in production processes.

– But as is usually the case in diversified agricultural production, while there are worse experiences in some market positions, there are benefits in others – they respond from the company led by Goran Miličević.

When asked about adapting to the time of inflation, they respond that Vupik Plus has sought to adapt to new conditions and optimize business processes to ensure results are in line with planned:

– Like other agricultural companies in the Fortenova group, we are maximally focused on operational business, which means that our main focus is on reducing costs in production processes as well as ensuring better living conditions for all our employees.

Vupik Plus also has significant storage and logistics capacities, among which the Danube silo with a capacity of 48,000 tons with a transshipment port and one of the most modern terminals along the entire Danube waterway stands out. In the last two years, this segment of the business has recorded significant growth. In 2020 alone, 300,000 tons of various grains and oilseeds were transshipped, representing a 50 percent increase compared to the previous year, and last year they maintained the same revenues.

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Transshipment port

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It is precisely at the transshipment port that the impact of the war in Ukraine on the trade and transport of grains and oilseeds is best seen. The number of barges and vessels coming from Black Sea ports carrying raw materials to the western part of Europe has significantly decreased. Additionally, there is a noticeable increase in the prices of all agricultural raw materials.

In the medium-term plans, the company is focused on increasing agricultural areas under irrigation systems, modernizing agricultural machinery, as well as maintaining and possibly increasing the livestock population.

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