Jul. 13, 2021
Nedjeljko JusupPart of our continuing special coverage of the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
The Croatian Ministry of Agriculture held a reception for award-winning olive oil producers in the nation’s capital on July 12 to congratulate them on their exceptional success at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
I do not exaggerate when I say that this is a historic success of our olive growers.
Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković and Zdravko Tušek, the State Secretary, also presented the winning producers with the country’s draft strategic plan for the new Common Agricultural Policy.
Croatian producers combined to earn a record-high 67 Gold Awards and 20 Silver Awards at this year’s edition of the NYIOOC, including 24 awards for organic extra virgin olive oils.
See Also:The Best Olive Oils from CroatiaOnly Italy, Spain and Greece won more awards than Croatia. Among the countries that submitted at least 20 entries, Croatian producers enjoyed the highest success rate – 83 percent.
“I do not exaggerate when I say that this is a historic success of our olive growers, which came as the crowning achievement of all previous efforts made by Croatian olive oil producers who insist on the high quality of the final product,” Vučković said.
“I sincerely congratulate them on their success and on the promotion of Croatian olive growing in the world,” he added. “According to the number of awards, Croatian olive growers are at the very top, but if we take into account the size of production and the ratio of awards and samples sent, I am deeply convinced that we are the best.”
For Vučković, these awards help certify Croatia’s quality, along with its protected production regions. Croatia currently has five olive oils with Protected Designations of Origin status: Cres, Istria, Korcula, Krk and Solta.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 40,278 hectoliters of olive oil were produced in 2020, a decrease of 9.5 percent compared to 2019, but 6.9 percent above the rolling five-year average – 38,117 hectoliters.
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