“Domestic wine producers were required to apply quality controls while imported wines were exempt from it. Hence the market was full of Graševina of questionable quality with dumping prices, affecting the consumers perception of Graševina, the most represented variety in Croatia,” commented Vlado Krauthaker, experienced wine grower and winemaker, President of the Graševina Croatica association, whose members produced over 17 million litres of wine last year, as Tportal reported on December 5, 2016.
According to data from the Croatian Chamber of Economy, during 2015 Croatia imported wine for 29.9 million euro and exported a value of 12.4 million euro. Most import came from Macedonia, then France, Germany, Italy and neighbouring Bosnia&Herzegovina, with the average price per litre of imported wine at 1.19 euro.
Necessary intervention by the state was called on in the beginning of 2016 by Ljerka Puljić, Supervisory Board member of Agrokor. She said then “we are witnesses that wine import grew enormously in 2015” and that cheap wines hold a large volume which “represent disloyal competition to domestic production as they are often sold at prices just barely over the price of a kilogram of grapes we produce in Croatia.” She pointed out wine must be controlled better to ensure quality and health.
The newest action by the Agriculture Minister mandates same rules for imported wines as for domestic. “As I promised domestic winemakers, all imported wines must now be sent to analysis and rating before the market,” Tolušić said.
