The production of rakija is on the rise.
Although many sectors of Croatian agriculture are in a continuous decline, there are several sectors which have very good prospects. One of them is the production of premium fruit brandies. The value of exports of domestic premium fruit brandies last year reached almost five million dollars. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the last few years this agriculture sector has registered as many as 20,000 new small producers. The majority of them, almost 17,000 new producers, have been registered in Slavonia, which is known for its brandy-producing traditions, reports HRT on January 24, 2016.
On the sunny slopes of Papuk mountain organic plums can be seen everywhere. Strong trees in the orchards promise another good year, after the last one which produced top quality fruit. Due to very good conditions, the local growers have turned wholeheartedly to producing premium brandies. They know the process very well, so it did not take them long to conquer the European market with their high-quality products. Last year, the exports were almost twice as high as imports of brandies into Croatia.
The potential market is huge, well-organized and ready to pay a good price for a quality product. Illegal private small-scale production of brandies, which used to be the norm in Croatia, has been successfully suppressed after the enactment of the new Law on Excise Duties.
“The excise duties are currently well-adapted to small producers, which are those who produce less than 20 litres of pure alcohol, which is about 50 litres of spirits”, says Robert Krnčević, president of the Association of Fruit Growers of the Požega-Slavonia County.
If they produce more than that, they have to pay the full amount of excise duty, which is about 20 kuna per litre of fruit brandy. It is quite an expense, but it is worth it. Price of a bottle of spirits abroad is between 30 to 50 euros. Therefore, it is not surprising that since Croatia joined the European Union, as many as 20,000 new small producers have been registered, mostly in Slavonia where the tradition of producing fruit brandies in small private plants is truly long.
