Sanja Plješa

D espite the economic cri-sis and weaker stand-ard, during the first six

months of this year 3.6 million of tourist arrivals was registered in Croatia, which is 5% more in relation to the same period of 2011. At the same time, 14.8 mil-lion of bed nights was registered, also 5% more, according to data provided by tourist boards along the coast and the City of Zagreb. In total structure of tourism rev-enue, foreigners registered 3 mil-

lion arrivals or 8% more as well as 13 million bed nights or 7% more than in the first six months of 2011. During the presenta-tion of tourism results, Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojić said they anticipate to repeat last year’s number of arrivals and bed nights as well as 3-5% more fi-nancial income.

Decreased number of ItaliansAccording to the number of tourists, the Germans dominate with one fourth in total tourism

revenue. They are followed by the Austrians, Slovenians and Czechs. However, what is wor-rying is that the arrival of the Italians reduced by 7% and bed nights results reduced by 6% in relation to 2011. Ostojić says this result can be explained by the economic situation in the country, which is why he antici-pates 33 million Italians to visit Croatia this year instead of 39 millions, which is almost 20% less than in 2011. This will cer-tainly affect the final tourism re-sults in Croatia since the Italians

are one of our biggest and most loyal visitors, said Ostojić. He also pointed out that during the first six months of this year the number of local tourists dropped by 5.5% which is the result of the weaker standard in the coun-try. Concerning counties, dur-ing the first six months of this year growth was registered in the tourist turnover, where the Minister highlighted the increase in the County of Dubrovnik and Neretva, which is the result of excellent preparations for this year’s season.

S U P P O R T E D B Y T H E C R O A T I A N C H A M B E R O F E C O N O M Y

pvpvinternationalinternationalCroatian Business & Finance WeeklyEstablished in 1953Monday / 16th July / 2012Year V / No 0208www.privredni.hr

What kind of healthcare sys-tem do we have?Consensus on the direction of development, but the financial issue remains openHEALTHCARE SYSTEM

PAGES 2-3

Financial AgencyHRK20 million - last year’s net profit of small-sized entrepre-neurs, big-sized entrepreneurs achieved HRK7.4 billionFINANCE

PAGE 6

Alen Varenina, director of Karo-lina, OsijekExcellent synergy effect of the Karolina and the Za-greb-based KrašINDUSTRY

PAGE 4

2008 20092010 2011

TOURIST RESULTS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2012

Increased revenue in tourism

According to the number of tourists, the Germans dominate with one fourth in total tourism revenue. They are followed by the Austrians, Slovenians and Czechs

2

A t the moment most pri-vate academies were being founded, it was

believed they were only fre-quented by students who can afford to pay in order to secure their degree. However, this per-ception has changed since the claims of the distrustful were re-futed by diplomats, who in gen-eral found jobs in a short period of time and excelled even faster in international corporations.Minerva is the first private acad-emy in the area of Split. As such it went through difficult times and learned from its mistakes. Today we are completely differ-ent and find ourselves in a better situation than at the beginning, and when Croatia joins the EU, private academies will become prestigious colleges that gener-ate top quality human resources. After signing the agreement on cooperation with a prestigious Austrian academy, frequented by 3000 students, Minerva will soon approach this goal. It is interest-ing that the programme of pri-vate academies in Austria is 80% subsidised by the Government, which makes them equal to state universities. Actually, the state has the same attitude towards private and public institutions, and in Croatia the academies are financed from tuitions. The €3 million worth equipment of this particular academy was procured by donations, as is the case of other private Austrian schools. If we were to receive donations

for equipment, it would only raise suspicions. For that reason we must change the way we think: we must be aware of the fact that education is the only way out of the crisis and private higher edu-cational institutions are an excel-lent addition to the public ones.It is a know fact that small com-panies are the generators of eco-nomic development and that we can make progress if we invest in the education of their man-agers. To put it simply, small-sized companies cannot afford the luxury of specialising their workers in a narrow field since they must be trained in several related professions. They require an interdisciplinary approach which is the basic programme of many private academies, includ-ing Minerva. The combination of interdisciplinary economy and information systems is the uni-versity of the future.

Jasminka Filipas

W e are too late. We failed to use pre-ac-cession funds because

we lacked strategy, said Health Minister Rajko Ostojić during the presentation of the National Healthcare Development Strat-egy Draft 2020 which should be adopted by the Parliament in September. Amongst other things, the Strategy is a condi-tion for health institutions and the related non-government or-ganisations to be able to apply for structural EU funds. We are not doing this only for the EU, but for the general public pri-marily, Ostojić pointed out. He added that the computerisation of healthcare, investment in hu-man resources, preventive pub-lic health actions and improve-ment of patient communication will be the key instruments of the healthcare system develop-ment during the next 8 years. In his explanation of why it is necessary to invest in human resources, he reminded Croatia lacks doctors, pharmacists and midwives in relation to the EU average. He added the Strategy envisages the reorganisation of the system and work of health institutions. Amongst others, it will include cooperation of health centres, family medi-cine physicians in concession, day care hospitals and special-ist – consultation hospital serv-ice. The priority goal is to draft clinical guidelines, intensify preventive actions and preserve financial stability of health through the development of pri-vate – additional health insur-ance.

Public procurement concentration Ostojić has recently partici-pated at the meeting of the EU Council for Employment, Social Policy and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) in Luxemburg. The EU health programme 2014-2010 was discussed during the meeting whose goal is to sub-sidise innovations in health, increase sustainability of the health system; improve health-care and the protection against cross-border disease spreading.

Privredni vjesnikYear V No 208

IMPRESSUM:

Privredni vjesnikKačićeva 910000 Zagreb+385 1 5600020uprava@privredni.hr

www.privredni-vjesnik.hr/subscription

FOR PUBLISHERNikola Baučić+385 1 4846661uprava@privredni.hr

EDITOR IN CHIEFDarko Buković+385 1 5600003bukovic@privredni.hr

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INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Ray Fletcherfletcher@privredni.hr

Zlata Božić Pavletić, owner of Minerva Academy

We must be aware of the fact that education is the only way out of the crisis and private higher educational institutions are an excellent addition to the public ones

(in the healthcare system

HRK7 billion of debtThere is space for private academies WHAT KIND OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM DO WE HAV

CONSENSUS ON TBUT THE FINANCIAComputerisation of healthcare, investment in human resourchealthcare system development during the next 8 years

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 3

(in Croatia

18 organised medical cenntrrrrresss

The European Commission sug-gested a sum of €446 million to be secured for this programme, and the final figure will depend on the outcome of the negotia-tions on Multi-Annual Budget Framework for this period. The economic crisis led to a discus-sion on methods for reducing expenses in the health system, and one of the suggestions was the concentration of the public procurement of vaccines, medi-cine and other medicine prepa-rations. Ostojić said Croatia has

already started to concentrate the procurement for some gener-ic medicine, food products and energy, which shows Croatia is ahead of some EU member countries at least in this aspect. In many other things, it still lags behind as the Strategy Draft re-veals. It actually includes a de-tailed analysis of the state of all health sectors as well as the Euro consumer health protection in-dex, according to which Croatia ranks 17 with 655 points out of a total of 34 European coun-

tries. The criteria of evaluation include, amongst other things, patient rights and informing, waiting period for health serv-ices, treatment results, scope and availability of health serv-ices and availability of free and other medicine. The conclusion, also mentioned in the Strategy, is that Croatia still has a lot of work to do on improving the as-pects of consumer patient rights, primarily on reducing the aver-age time people have to wait for a health service.

Five crucial problems

The experts who worked on the Strategy identified five key ar-eas of strategic problems in the Croatian health system: poor IT and other type of communication, treatment continuity, unequal or unfamiliar care quality, insuf-ficient efficiency and efficacy, poor or unequal availability of healthcare and considerably weak health indicators. It is also men-tioned that even though the trend of reducing total rate of mortality and mortality from many illness-es, these rates remain high com-pared with the European aver-age. Especially concerning is the public’s health attitude and risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol use. Dif-ficult socioeconomic condition additionally jeopardises the pub-lic health state, people do not take personal responsibility for their health nor do they use healthcare responsibly.Besides solving the acute prob-lems, such as the debt of over HRK7 billion, the Ministry of Health set many other goals for the forthcoming period. Of course, the dynamics of imple-menting concrete measures will depend on the funds the Ministry intends to draw from the Euro-pean cohesion funds and on the state budget as well as eventual problems that might arise from the EU accession (for example, migration of doctors and other medical staff to the EU, forc-ing Croatia to import these type of experts). As mentioned in the Strategy, health reform will be implemented gradually, guided by the vision to improve the qual-ity of life through preventive and timely treatment availability.

VE AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT BY 2020?

THE DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT, AL ISSUE REMAINS OPEN ces, preventive public health actions and improvement of patient communication – key instruments of the

There are 222 locations in Croatia with good conditions for the develo-pment of health tourism, out of which only 10% is used in a form of 18 or-ganised medical centres. As in the case of other Mediterranean countri-es, Croatia has also been hit by the wave of wellness centres which offer medical and other treatments. Actually, it is estimated that even 80 Cro-atian hotels declared as wellness hotels by 2005. However, Croatia sti-ll lacks a clear and detailed concept for developing tourism in general as well as health tourism. The specific interdisciplinary nature of this type of tourism definitely complicates the procedures for harmonising legisla-tive solutions. Appropriate normative acts on health services in tourism are lacking, and they should enable performing health and tourist-cate-ring activities under the same roof. It is necessary to invest in hotel and health suprastructures in compliance with the requirements of modern global tourism demand, which implies staff training and increasing com-petitiveness on the international market.

Big chances for health tourism

4

Svetozar Sarkanjac

Karolina, a factory pro-ducing biscuits, wafers and salty snacks, was

founded in 1909. It was founded by Stjepan Piller, a confectioner, who named it after his daughter. Subsequent owners changed its name to Sloboda following the Second World War. The factory, being one of the leaders of the Osijek-based food processing in-dustry, survived the hardships of war, post-war years and the pri-vatisation. In 2002 Lura became its major-ity owner and consequently it terminated its long-term produc-tion of bread and sweets and sold its retail network and business premises. Its name Sloboda was also changed and the factory it-self was almost closed. In 2006 the Austrian company Lorenz became its owner and the fac-tory continued to barely sur-vive. Luckily, its fate was more favourable than the fate of most Osijek-based industry in the 1990’s. Some 10% of the pre-war employees (over 2,000 em-ployees) saw factory ownership change hands yet again following its acquisition by Kraš. Privredni vjesnik talked with Alen Vareni-na, Director of Karolina about the situation in the factory at the time and its current business cir-cumstances.

Could you compare the situa-tion in Karolina following its acquisition by Kraš with its current business circumstanc-es?Karolina was facing an extreme-ly uncertain future, its develop-ment strategy was undefined and it saw absence of investment which consequently had a nega-tive impact on its staff prior to its acquisition by Kraš. An at-

mosphere of fear and insecurity was created, prompted by a wide variety of speculations and cata-strophic scenarios presented in Croatian media on a daily basis. The current situation is com-pletely the opposite. Karolina is currently a company with a clear-ly defined development strategy and its investment value stands at €5 million over the last year. Hence, production and sales in-creased, as well as the number of employees which is a significant achievement within an extremely arduous business year. We are a member of a successful group which is a market leader and whose expertise and experience are providing us with substantial assistance and support in our de-velopment. In addition, our own experience is valued, we feel re-

spected and we believe our role is important.

During the contract signing, Nadan Vidošević, Board Presi-dent of Kraš at the time, stated that: “by integrating the strong brands of Jadro and Moto into Kraš group, we are achieving the pinnacle of the Croatian production excellence of bis-cuits and wafers“. What has been achieved thus far?The acquisition has fully achieved its goals. Karolina brands be-came integrated into Kraš which additionally strengthened its role as a regional leader. In 2012 we have seen a significant increase in sales of Karolina brands over the same period last year, after Kraš took over the distribution of our products throughout Croatia.

This is only one of the synergy effects of the acquisition by Kraš. In addition, we have seen signifi-cant improvement in business results in purchasing and produc-tion compared with our opera-tions prior to the acquisition.

The first stage of the an-nounced investment in Karo-lina has been completed. What has been achieved?The first and the most important stage has been completed and it has noticeably increased Karo-lina production capacity and sig-nificantly extended its product range. In addition, it has tackled several fundamental issues, such as enhancement of production technologies, as well as recon-struction and expansion of ware-house capacity.

Privredni vjesnikYear V No 208

ALEN VARENINA, DIRECTOR OF KAROLINA, OSIJEK

EXCELLENT SYNERGY EFFECTThe Osijek-based Karolina and the Zagreb-based Kraš are excellent examples of capital and production trans-fer from Zagreb to Osijek in hope similar practices will be followed by other companies

(invested last year

€5 million (Karolina was founded

in 1909

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 5

Svetozar Sarkanjac

The Osijek-based company Mono engaged in IT sys-tem design is one of the

largest Croatian software export-ers, irrespective of the fact that it has been operating for only 9 years and is still in its inception stage. The company has been perceived as a provider of the most complex application solu-tions with its software used glo-bally in medicine, pharmacology, banking, finance, energy sector, trade, human asset management, education and state administra-tion in over 70 countries. Its 19 staff generated almost HRK5.2 million in revenue, creating a year-end profit of nearly HRK2.5 million. Over 80% of the revenue is generated on the US and the EU markets. Its software solu-tions are used by Novartis, Pfiz-er, Aventis Sanofi, Astra Zeneca,

Zambon and other multinational companies. It is important to highlight the Software SBA Open (software for electronic credit ap-plication processing) that Mono developed for the American agency Small Business Admin-istration (SBA), which provides assistance to small businesses and is primarily involved in pro-viding loan guarantees. Mono was one of the promot-ers of the idea of Osijek becom-ing the Croatian Silicon Valley

and the headquarters of a large number of companies engaged in software development. “Mono has been working on the project entitled Osijek Software City in co-operation with companies Adcon, Inchoo, Farmeron and K-Informatika which are all ex-port-oriented”, emphasises Denis Sušac, Director and founder of Mono.The company has developed a wide variety of applications in various areas and it mainly focus-

es on keeping abreast with tech-nology. “We are lucky to be op-erating in the area which makes it possible for us in Osijek to co-operate with clients globally, as physical presence is superflu-ous. High quality, educated and motivated staff is fundamental”, pointed out Sušac, whose com-pany has been awarded Zlatna kuna by the Croatian Chamber of Economy – County Chamber Osijek in the Small Business category. The company has been co-operating extensively with the State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia and with HEP on im-portant and successful projects, the provider of public electricity services. Nevertheless, there is ample room for improvement in co-operation with local compa-nies. “Quality IT solutions are of fundamental importance for business development”, stressed Sušac.

MONO – ONE OF THE LEADING CROATIAN SOFTWARE EXPORTERS

Stars of the Osijek-based Silicon ValleyIts software is used globally in medicine, pharmacology, banking, finance, energy sector, trade, human asset management, education and state administration in over 70 countries

With agreements on technical aid for 32 development projects, the Ministry of Regional De-velopment and EU Funds will secure a phase acceptable for financing by the EU funds. For this programme the Ministry allocated HRK30 million of non-repayable funds from their Devel-opment Projects Preparation and Implementation Programme. The subsidies are intended for projects for technical aid and co-financing the drafting of project documenta-tion. The value of each accepted project is over €1 million and they refer to public-business or tourist-cultural infrastructures. Twelve public-business infrastructure projects worth €190 million were accepted in addition to 20 projects in the public-cultural or tourist in-frastructure with estimated value of around €300 million.

The recipients are expected to draft by December project assign-ment and its application, study of feasibility or cost analysis as well as benefits of the project and project elaborate.As Government Vice-President and Minister of Regional Devel-opment and EU Funds Branko Grčić says, a large sum of money is offered to Croatian projects and it should be taken. However, this will require good projects. We have them, but not enough, and by co-financing we wish to help lo-

cal administrations that lack funds to realise

their projects. An-other opportunity to realise projects

worth HRK3 bil-lion for HRK30 million will not arrive any time soon, con-cludes Grčić.

(K.S.)

Loans of the banking system totalled HRK289.7 billion at the end of May, which is HRK1 billion less in relation to April. This was mostly contributed by the decrease lending of the corporative sector whose loans reduced by HRK4.1 billion on a monthly level. In relation to the end of 2011, total loans in-creased by a minimum of 0.1% to HRK392 million, which is exclusively a consequence of the growing state loans given the fact they increased by HRK6.3 bil-lion or 1.7%. In total loans, state loans participate with a share of around 14%, and they totalled HRK43.3 billion at the end of May. Corporate loans, which participate with a share of 40% in the structure of total loans, re-duced by 4.6% in relation to the end of 2011, totalling HRK113.3 billion. Public loans (44% share in total loan structure) stagnate, totalling HRK128.8 billion.

On a year-on-year level, the growth rate of total loans contin-ues to slow down, resulting in an-nual growth rate of 2.2%, which is the lowest rate since May 2010.By the end of the year, RBA ana-lysts do not anticipate intensifi-cation of credit activities since the demand for corporate loans is limited by the difficult business conditions and reduced demand. A slightly more intense crediting could be realised through loan programmes of HBOR. Howev-er, there is a problem of finding quality funding projects. (V.A.)

PROJECTS

For HRK30 million to HRK3 billion

LOANS IN MAY

HRK1 billion less than in April

6 Privredni vjesnikYear V No 208

CROATIAN FOREIGN CURRENCY MARKET

Source: HNB WEEK JULY 14, 2012

Currency Kuna exchange mid-rate

AUD 6,244066CAD 6,040499JPY 7,739233CHF 6,235224GBP 9,482374USD 6,134557EUR 7,485386

Last year, big-sized en-trepreneurs in Croatia achieved HRK7.4 billion

in consolidate financial results – period net profit (difference between total profit and total loss of big-sized entrepreneurs). Medium-sized entrepreneurs reg-istered HRK201 million in net loss, and small-sized entrepre-neurs achieved HRK20 millions of profit, according to data pro-vided by the Financial Agency (FINA). These data show that last year was more successful than 2010 in all three sectors. The best results were achieved by small-sized entrepreneurs with HRK20 million of net profit and after HRK3.6 billion of net loss in 2010. Medium-sized en-trepreneurs decreased their net loss by 42.9% since they regis-tered HRK201 million of net loss after HRK353 million of net loss in 2010. Big-sized entrepreneurs increased net profit by 17.5%, achieving HRK7.4 billion of net profit after HRK6.3 billion of net profit in 2010. According to the statement of FINA, this is mostly owed to one-time income in the shipbuilding industry due to the expropriation of assets by the decision of the Croatian govern-ment.

Domination of the big-sized For the past few years, the sec-tor of big-sized entrepreneurs has

been playing a dominant role in the business of the entrepreneurs. In 2011, this sector participat-ed with a share of 0.4% in the number of entrepreneurs, 32.6% in the number of employees, 48% in total income, 45% in pe-riod profit, 28.9% in period loss, 51.8% in investment in fixed as-sets and HRK7.4 billion in period net profit (total profit minus total losses). Total result of all entre-preneurs was HRK7.2 billion (period net profit).In 2011, the sector of medium-sized entrepreneurs participated with a 1.3% share in the number

of entrepreneurs, 18.4% in the number of the employed, 18.2% in total income, 12.8% in pe-riod profit, 17.2% in period loss (HRK201 million) and 16.2% in investment in new fixed assets.In the same year the sector of small-sized entrepreneurs partici-pated with a share of 98.3% share in the number of entrepreneurs, 49.1% in the number of the em-ployed, 33.8% in total income, 42.2% in period profit, 53.9% in period loss, 32% in investment in new fixed assets, and 0.3% in pe-riod net profit (HRK20 million). (V.A.)

FINANCIAL AGENCY

HRK20 million - last year’s net profit of small-sized entrepreneurs Big-sized entrepreneurs achieved HRK7.4 billion in consolidate financial result, and medium-sized achieved HRK201 million in net loss

HRK45.9 billion of foreign debtAccording to data provided by HNB, gross foreign debt increased slightly in March in relation to February. However, on a year-on-year level it is still decreas-ing. At the end of March, foreign debt totalled €45.9 billion, which is €112.5 million or 0.2% more in relation to the end of February. Since March 2011, foreign debt has increased by €1.6 billion or 3.4%. This was mostly contribut-ed by the decreased external debt of the public sector or corporate sector. At the same time, the ex-ternal debt of the state continued to grow.

Banka Brod became KentBankBanka Brod changed its name into KentBank and expanded its activi-ties. The Bank received a new in-tegral solution according to which it will continue to offer its present services, but it also updated its money transfer system and added factoring services. This Bank is in the majority ownership of Ek-sen Holding from Istanbul, which owns 81% of the registered basic capital and has the right to 99.7% of votes at the main assembly.

Insurance premiums in declineDuring the first six months of this year, total premium of all insurance companies decreased by 1% in relation to the same period of 2011, and it totalled HRK4.89 billion. From this sum, HRK3.7 billion refers to non-life insurance, and in this seg-ment the premium decreased by 1.9%. At the same time, the pre-mium of life-insurance increased by 1.9% to HRK1.17 billion.The biggest share in the insur-ance market is held by Croatia osiguranje with 34.1%, which is 0.9% less in relation to 2011. It is followed by Allianz Zagreb which holds 12.1% of the market, which is 1.3% more in relation to the middle of 2011.

::: news

9.7. 10.7. 11.7. 12.7. 13.7.

7.52

7.51

7.50

7.49

7.48

7.47

EUR 6.14

6.12

6.10

5.08

5.06

5.04

USD 6.26

6.25

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6.22

6.21

CHF

9.7. 10.7. 11.7. 12.7. 13.7. 9.7. 10.7. 11.7. 12.7. 13.7.

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 7WE PRESENT

Klinčić Računovodstvo provides a wide range of services such as ac-

counting assistance services for business start-ups, bookkeeping services and advice on address-ing problems and misunder-standings with tax authorities, as well as on regulatory com-pliance to name a few. Stjepan Klinčić, co-owner of the com-pany, stated that the company was incepted in 2000 following the accounting assistance he and his wife provided to an acquaint-ance who was managing a large foreign trade company at the time. “He expressed his utmost satisfaction at our work and commitment and offered us busi-ness premises and IT equipment. Currently, following 12 years of work commitment, we own busi-ness premises in Zagreb and 4 types of accounting software, we manage accounting and provide consultancy services for 14 com-panies and micro-companies”, explained Klinčić, who has a de-gree in economics.

Hybrid accountantsThe company currently employs three full-time staff and it also outsources an approved audi-tor and an accredited accountant expert witness. “Unfortunately, due to turbulent and uncertain economic conditions, we are not

planning new employment, irre-spective of the current require-ments”, he stated. We have good relationship with our competitors and other con-sultancy service providers. “We exchange experiences on pro-viding assistance with regula-tory compliance and advice on implementation of laws”, high-lighted Klinčić, adding that it is essential to tackle the issue of hy-brid accountants. It is important to highlight that accounting li-cences can currently be obtained rapidly and easily by completing a course. “This usually dramati-cally affects entrepreneurs, who entrust their business to such accountants at extremely afford-able rates. Hence, we often have to address the consequences of such bookkeeping and account-ing services”, he explained. In addition, accounting has been focusing solely on providing formal reports and issuing state-ments. “Accountants mainly deal with the formal aspects of the balance of accounts, without deep insight into their credibility. Hence, stricter control needs to be implemented concerning cred-ibility and ensuring that all regu-latory requirements are met. In addition, uncompromising sanc-tions for non-compliance with laws and regulations are crucial”, concluded Klinčić. (B.O.)

OPG Tvorek farm has been founded by Mario Tvorek for whom smoke-

dried meat production was ini-tially just an additional job. Nev-ertheless, he turned his hobby into a serious family business. Tvorek points out that his farm is located on the outskirts of Slavo-nia, in Nova Gradiška and it wel-comes visitors with the best Sla-vonian gastronomic delicacies. The farm produces kulen and ku-lenova seka (types of flavoured sausage made of minced pork that is traditionally produced in the region), panceta (pork belly meat, salt-cured and seasoned with spices), Slavonian slanina (bacon), čvarak (a specialty of West Balkan cuisine, a variant of pork rinds), smoked pork ribs, bones and lard. Tvorek is commencing ex-ports of traditional products in the near term. In addition, he is completing the construction of a new modern facility for process-ing and production of meat and smoke-dried meat with the in-vestment value of HRK800,000. In addition, he invested in hor-ticulture and the construction of access roads.

Market expansionTvorek has been in this business for 15 years. He lived and stud-ied in Zagreb and consequently he established his first sales channels in the Croatian capital.

“In addition to the Zagreb-based market, we have also penetrated the markets in Rijeka and Istria. We also find Dalmatia of particu-lar interest and we are currently working on our market expan-sion. Our products are already present in some Dalmatian mar-kets and we believe Dalmatian markets have huge potential. We have been selling our products in Omiš for 10 years and we are also extremely satisfied with our sales in Kaštela. We began sell-ing our products in Kaštela last year during the Adriatic games at the stall organised by the Croatian Chamber of Economy whose promotional campaigns, such as Let’s Buy Croatian, we regularly follow and gladly par-ticipate in”, explained Tvorek. Mario Tvorek highlighted sever-al arduous issues he often needs to address in his work: “There are arduous issues in every job. Last year we had serious prob-lems with the purchase of chilly paprika, due to ice damage to the plantation of our contract farmer. We had to tackle many hurdles to purchase chilli paprika and we eventually succeeded, as it is one of the fundamental ingredients on a par with quality pork meat. We have seen the highest demand for čvarci and panceta this year, throughout the presentations dur-ing the promotional campaign Let’s Buy Croatian”, pointed out Tvorek. (J.V.)

KLINČIĆ RAČUNOVODSTVO, ZAPREŠIĆ OPG TVOREK, NOVA GRADIŠKA

Audit and consultancy services

Gastronomic experience on the outskirts of SlavoniaThe farm produces sausage made of minced pork, bacon, smoked pork ribs, bones and lard...

The company currently employs three full-time staff and it also outsources an approved auditor and an accredited accountant expert witness

8

Jozo Vrdoljak

This year’s ninth Interfest Wine Festival in Novi Sad has brought together 120

participants from 15 countries. Wine producers coming from the New World Wine countries – Australia, South Africa and South America - have participat-ed in the festival for the first time this year. On the other hand, wine producers from Serbia, Montene-gro, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedo-nia, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Por-tugal, Austria and France are its regular participants. “Interfest has proved its resil-ience to the crisis, according to the number of visitors and the number of bottles of wine sold. This year’s Interfest has seen around 25,000 wine enthusiasts, whereas over 30,000 bottles of various wine varieties have been consumed during the festival”, stressed Nataša Budisavljević, Director of the Festival.

Enhancement of the wine culture Interfest is an event which has significantly contributed to en-hancement of the wine culture in the largest city of Vojvodina, yet it is the only event in the region which is not financed exclusively by the participants. During most

festivals and fairs, wine produc-ers have to pay for the exhibition space, they are obliged to provide free wine tasting for participants at the events and they have to pay for the participation in work-shops, whereas ticket revenues are mainly allocated to the or-ganisers. Nevertheless, Interfest charges the participants solely for the exhibition space. In addition, the participants receive a commis-sion from visitor vouchers and can hence fully cover all the expenses generated by their participation in the festival, with many of them creating profits, as they are fully entitled to sell their wines. Croatian wine producers, who are the most numerous foreign participants, have been support-ed by the Croatian Chamber of Economy Zagreb over the past few years. This year, Croatian Chamber of Economy Pula and Dubrovnik have participated in the organisation. Croatian wine producers appeared under the brand called Vina Croatia. More-over, Agrokor vina (presenting its wine varieties in a separate exhibition area included in the Croatian stall), Badel and the City of Vodnjan have also tradition-ally and separately

participated in the festival. This year, the municipality of Oprtalj participated as well. Ipša and Chiavalon, olive oil producers, have been noticeably successful also this year. “Wine enthusiasts in Novi Sad are well-acquainted with Croatian wines. Nevertheless, our wines are not sufficiently positioned”, stated Edo Tanović, representative of Kalavojna vina, an Istrian company.

Matuško: A worthy investment The Pelješac-based wine produc-er Mato Violić Matuško believes this market has huge potential. He is one of the few Croatian wine producers whose wines have been included in wine lists of the most exclusive Serbian clubs and restaurants. “I believe this mar-ket is a worthy investment and we have consequently achieved significant results, primarily in the category of top quality wines. I would like to highlight that I have succeeded in market posi-tioning of my best wines due to good lobbyists and distributors.

Had I waited for someone else to do it for me, I would not have achieved

anything”, point-ed out Violić.

Privredni vjesnikYear V No 208

Interfest Wine Festival

Croatian wine producers not sufficiently positioned

::: news

New visual identity of DaruvarDaruvar-Papuk Tourist Board has recently presented a new logo and a slogan for the Daruvar area de-signed and created by the Zagreb-based company Logic Marketing. A new visual identity was created in accordance with the guidelines on tourism positioning of the Daruvar area set in advance by the Split-based MarCon and the Bar-celona-based DDS Consultancy experts. The slogan Love of life promotes Daruvar as a longev-ity centre and a centre for quality life, due to its thermal springs pre-sented as a source of healthy life.

Hong Kong tourists visiting Vukovar

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The success of Polish film at Zagreb TourFilm Festival

Zagreb TourFilm Festival, the First International Tourism Film Festival has recently been held in Zagreb, organised by Zagreb Tourist Board and the com-pany Balduči film, supported by the Croatian President Ivo Josipović. 132 films from 37 countries were competing for 22 awards and the Grand Prix in 4 categories and the Polish film Polska – feel invited won the Grand Prix award.

Croatian wine producers, who are the most numerous foreign participants, have been supported by the Croatian Chamber of Economy Zagreb