GOVERNMENT WILL CONTINUE TO STIMULATE AGRICULTURE

( Editorial: --> 7864 ) ZAGREB, Sept 3 (Hina) - The Croatian Government on Thursday adopted a report on the second round of voucher privatisation, assessing that it was completed successfully. Voucher privatisation is one of the ways the principle of social justice is implemented, Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa said. Part of state wealth has been allocated free of charge to a group of citizens who did not have a chance to participate in the privatisation process earlier, Matesa explained. Voucher privatisation is not a form of compensation to Homeland war victims but one of the principles of the Croatian state concerning social justice, Matesa said. In the second half of this year the Government will continue the programme of renewal of agricultural machinery, for which US $38 million will be set aside. Apart from US $125 million which have been earmarked for agricultural stimulation, the Government will also set aside an additional US $78 million in loans and guarantees for agriculture. The Government also discussed the sowing of rape and sugar beet and determined the guaranteed prices of those crops. Deputy Economy Minister Jasna Boric informed the session about the sale of mercantile wheat and corn from the state commodity stockpile on the foreign and domestic markets. Out of a total of 60,000 tonnes of wheat, 55,000 tonnes have been sold on the domestic market. However, only 3,366 out of the planned 60,000 tonnes of wheat have been sold on the foreign market. The overall export of last year's mercantile wheat has been set at 10,000 tonnes and the wheat is being exported as planned, Boric said adding that it was very difficult to sell wheat on the foreign market. (hina) jn rml 031708 MET sep 98