Warehousing warrants will be treated as a property and guarantee document designed to enable farmers to sell their products at the most favourable time, according to Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankretic.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will fund the development of the warehousing warrants system in Croatia with HRK 350 million and loans for this purpose will be available to farmers via commercial banks.
The government adopted an operational programme for the development of goat- and sheep-breeding and an estimated one billion kuna will have to be secured for this purpose in the next five years.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader sent to parliament a new bill on excise duties, which has been brought into line with EU standards.
The bill introduces changes regarding excise taxes on alcohol and alcoholic drinks. Currently, excise duties are imposed on alcoholic drinks with more than 2% of alcohol, and under the new bill, the limit for imposing excise duties will be lowered to more than 1.2 percent of alcohol.
The new legislation will make it possible for wines and alcohol-free beers to be exempted from excise duties.
Upon its entry into the European Union, Croatia will have to impose excise duties on natural gas, electricity and coke. The bill also defines exemptions from those duties.
The government was also informed that the World Bank would finance the reconstruction of roads in the area of Rijeka with a EUR 84 million loan, to be granted for a period of 23 years, with a 10-year grace.