ZAGREB, July 23, 2020 – A strategic turnaround in the fruit and vegetable sector requires a better organisation of production, the association of producers, i.e. stronger horizontal and vertical integration, a conference heard on Thursday.
Due to the corona-crisis and marked drop in tourist consumption, Croatia’s fruit and vegetable market has undergone big changes which have affected offer and demand as well as prices, which depend on the global offer and demand, and the availability of domestic product, it was said at a presentation of the situation on the fruit and vegetable market organised by Smarter, a consulting company specialising in agriculture and the food industry.
“Due to climate conditions, it’s already evident that Croatia will see a drop in the production of most leading fruits – apples, mandarins, plums – while market prices are mainly somewhat higher than last year,” said Denis Matijevic, head of Smarter and chairman of the Board of ENNA Fruit.
Smarter estimates that due to the spring frost this year’s apple production will drop to 55,000 tonnes. Insufficient precipitations and lack of irrigation are expected to reduce mandarin production to 30,000 tonnes.
As for vegetables, Matijevic said there had been no extreme disruptions in production so the yield was expected to be the same as last year, “while on the market there is a visible drop in prices between 12% and 20%.”
It is estimated that this year will see the production of 175,000 tonnes of potatoes, 33,000 tonnes of tomatoes and 25,000 tonnes of watermelons, the same as last year.
