COBANKOVIC COMMENTS ON HIS TALKS WITH E.U. AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER

ZAGREB, Feb 24 (Hina) - During talks with EU Agriculture and Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler, the Croatian side tried to protect to the maximum extent possible the interests of Croatian producers and agriculture, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Petar Cobankovic said on Tuesday.#L# Cobankovic said he had requested that the EU suspend subsidies to EU producers for pork exports to Croatia and that it open its market to imports of shellfish from Croatia, which he said would be considered. Cobankovic announced that the ban on imports of cattle and beef from EU countries with the lowest incidence of "mad cow" disease would be lifted as soon as the council in charge of monitoring bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) reached a final decision. The minister said that there had been no talk of the so-called sugar scandal, and that it was up to the EU to assess whether Croatian producers had made a mistake and to determine sanctions. The scandal erupted when some Croatian companies were found to have been exporting sugar that was not produced in Croatia. Cobankovic announced intervention buying of domestically-bred young beef cattle and pigs. (Hina) vm sb