Despite an excellent harvest, Domagoj Škobić from Aljmaš failed to sell apricots at a price that would cover costs. Plum producers in Darda are going through similar agony.
Domagoj Škobić, a fruit grower from Aljmaš, has recently started using an excavator to remove his own orchard of as many as 5,000 apricot trees. The decision to clear the orchard, as reported by HRT, came after this year's excellent harvest could not be sold at a price that would cover production costs, all due to pressure from cheap imported fruit.
"We have a very large quantity in storage, and we simply can't keep up. It's all eating itself," Škobić said. He emphasizes that the cause is not excessive domestic production, but rather a lack of understanding in the market for the little that is grown in Croatia. "This is not about some kind of overproduction, but about the failure of importers and retail chains to understand the small share of domestic production that we have," he added.
Stjepan Zorić from the Croatian Fruit Growers' Association confirms the absurd situation: Croatia produces only about ten percent of the apricots needed for the domestic market, but domestic producers still cannot compete with imports. He sees the key reason in the lack of infrastructure and support.
"We cannot be competitive in any fruit production if we don't have proper irrigation and everything that our competitors have," Zorić said. He also commented on practices in other countries where producers use protective nets and frost protection systems, as well as on consumer mentality. "As a rule, it's always a fight for profit, and we understand that. However, that's not everything; in some countries, there is also local patriotism, so there's a preference for buying domestic products," he pointed out.
A similar drama is unfolding among plum producers. Renato Kovač from the Veterans' Social-Work Cooperative in Darda testifies to the relentless pressure from retail chains on prices. "They blackmail us and push prices down. When I hear there's going to be a weekend promotion, I get a headache because I know the price has dropped and we no longer have a chance," he complained.
Kovač reveals just how unprofitable the production really is: after covering all costs, producers are left with less than 20 cents per kilogram. "We're left with less than twenty cents per kilogram, so let others judge whether that's profitable. We've stopped the harvest and we're not delivering at that price," he said.
Experts warn that such scenes will become more frequent without serious investment in orchard modernization and more favorable financing sources. While domestic producers are clearing their orchards, Croatia has imported fruits and vegetables worth around 600 million euros this year alone.
