FARMERS HOLD TALKS WITH FINANCE MINISTRY REPS

( Editorial: --> 6140 ) ZAGREB, Aug 26 (Hina) - Every wheat producer will be paid the guaranteed 1.10 kuna per kilogram of wheat, assistant agriculture and forestry minister, Ivan Djurkic, said in Zagreb on Wednesday. Ministry representatives held talks with representatives of the Association of Farmers from Slavonia and Baranja (eastern Croatia). Expressing satisfaction with the meeting, the Association's secretary, Stanko Zdravcevic, told reporters that the Association would not hold rallies announced for the end of August. The meeting was successful and the farmers' representatives are going home satisfied, Zdravcevic said after the meeting. What has been agreed will be realised, the deadline is five to six days, and there will be no rallies, he said. One of the basic demands of the farmers' union was that they be uniformly paid for the wheat without VAT deduction from the guaranteed price of 1.10 kuna (17 US cents). Asked about the Value Added Tax, Djurkic said not one wheat producer would suffer any loss. Zdravcevic added that the meeting also focused on overall agrarian issues and the buy-off of oil crops. Everything is clear when it comes to oil crops. The sowing as agreed with the Zagreb and Cepin oil factories is well-known. The factories are the buyers, the farmers the producers, the buyer pays the VAT, and there should be no problem regarding this, Zdravcevic said. (hina) lml 261906 MET aug 98