Award-Winning Producer Elected to Lead New Association in Croatia
Ivica Vlatković is the first president of the Association of Olive Growers of Zadar County. Their goal is to produce, brand and sell high-quality olive oils.
The Association of Olive Growers of Zadar County has become the first of its kind in the southern Croatian region of Dalmatia.
The new association of growers was founded within the Center for Creative Activities in Zadar and has elected Ivica Vlatković as its first president. Zadar is located in northern Dalmatia and includes the wild millennial olive trees on the island of Pag.
See Also: Brač Seeks Croatia’s Sixth PDO CertificationVlatković is a well-known producer from the municipality of Novigrad and earned two Gold Awards at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
From now on, it will be much easier to communicate and cooperate on the improvement of olive growing and processing, storage and branding of increasingly high-quality oils from the area of the county, said Daniel Segarić, head of agriculture in Zadar County.
Ivica Vlatković and Daniel Segaric
Vlatković invited all olive growers who care about the development of olive growing and oil production to join the association.
The goal is to produce, brand and sell quality extra virgin olive oils at appropriate prices so that not only olive growers but also consumers benefit, he said.
According to the latest data, Zadar comprises 2,580 hectares of olive groves spread across 3,500 farms. Thirty-eight mills operate in the county and process about 800,000 liters of olive oil each year.
See Also: Award-Winning Croatian Olive OilsThere are also 43 certified appraisers of olive oil, according to Segarić, who also congratulated Vlatković at the founding ceremony of the association.
He further applauded the 10 Gold and two Silver Awards earned by Zadar producers at 2021 NYIOOC. Overall, Croatian producers combined to earn a record-high 67 Gold and 20 Silver Awards at the competition.
Along with Vlatković, the young olive grower Josip Pavlica was named as the organization’s secretary. Dražen Travica was chosen to be the president of the Board of Directors. Šime Marcelić, Josip Kulaš, Željko Vrsaljko, Damir Vicković, Zlatko Strpić and Marinko Mikić were also elected to the executive board of the association.