AGRICULTURE MINISTER SAYS FARMERS HAVE NO REASON TO PROTEST

( Editorial: --> 1805 ) ZAGREB, Aug 4 (Hina) - Agriculture and Forestry Minister Zlatko Dominikovic says eastern Croatian farmers, who on Tuesday staged a road blockade as a warning to the Government of further possible action, "have no reason for protesting". He was speaking on Croatian Television's main evening news bulletin, following the protest in which the Association of Farmers from Slavonia and Baranja wanted to draw attention to their demands that the net buying price of wheat be set at 1.10 kuna per kilogram for all agricultural producers. Dominikovic said the farmers had a legal and democratic right to protest, but recalled that all the wheat had been bought and practically there were no more offers for repurchase. He stressed that the government had done its share of the work and there was "nothing more to discuss over the crop in 1998, yet it would like to discuss the crop for 1999". Wheat of a standard quality is bought at the protective price, and the money is paid out before the agreed to deadline of 15 days, and sometimes even within a deadline of seven days, for example PPK Kutjevo, Zupanja and anywhere else where the purchase is exceptionally well organised, Dominikovic said. He pointed out farmers in the Pozega-Slavonia, Bjelovar, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Vukovar-Srijem and Virovitica Counties (north-eastern and eastern Croatia) were not complaining. "I believe some of the people want the wheat problem to be politicised for the purpose of their personal political promotion," Dominikovic said, pointing out that the town of Djakovo and the surrounding region were always creating problems. (Hina) mbr 042229 MET aug 98