CRO FARMERS' ASSOCIATION'S DEMANDS UNREASONABLE - SAYS MINISTER

ZAGREB, June 29 (Hina) - The demands of the Croatian Farmers' Association are unproductive and unreasonable and the Croatian government cannot fulfil them, Croatian Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ivan Djurkic told reporters in Zagreb on Tuesday. Djurkic called on all farmers protesting in Croatia to return to their farms and stop damaging Croatia's economy and reputation. He announced a meeting on Wednesday with bakers' and agricultural manufacturers' representatives, to agree on the market price of wheat, expected to be ten to 15 percent higher than the guaranteed price. The Croatian Farmers' Association demands a ban on the import of agricultural goods of which there is sufficient domestic supply, the payment of delivered agricultural products, and higher wheat prices. On account of Croatia's economic integration, the government will have to abandon some things to protect domestic production, the minister said. The government will however influence farmers' market competitiveness via direct payments and will for some products introduce additional customs protection, he added. Djurkic asserted the state had paid in full for all agricultural products, adding that all stimuli for January and February had also been paid from the budget. The payment of stimuli for March is in course, he said. There are problems with sugar-beet, because COSUN, the Dutch company which owns a sugar-beet factory in Virovitica, has not paid for the product it has taken from farmers. "This problem is on the best way to be solved," Djurkic said. (hina) ha jn