WHEAT FROM DANUBE RIVER REGION WILL END UP IN CROATIAN SILOS

VUKOVAR, 19 June (Hina) - It is expected that this year's harvest in the Croatian Danube river region (under U.N. administration) would amount to 100,000 - 120,000 tons of wheat, of which the largest part will end up in Croatian silos, said Ivan Djurkic of the Reconstruction and Development Ministry's Centre for Reconstruction and Development of the Croatian Danube river region, after his meeting with representatives of agricultural companies from the Danube river region in Vukovar on Thursday. #L# Companies and private entrepreneurs from the Danube river region are willing to sell the wheat to whoever offers the best conditions, Djurkic said. They are aware of the fact that Serbia won't pay for the wheat and they intend to sell it to Croatian companies. Besides, they have to give back 14,000 tons of wheat for loans they had been granted by the Croatian Commodity Stockpiles Board, which were used for the sowing, Djurkic said adding that it had been agreed that the wheat from U.N.- administered parts of Osijek, Vukovar and Vinkovci areas be transported directly from the fields to silos in Osijek or Vinkovci. A large number of farm machines from the Croatian Danube river region had been transported to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and there were currently 319 old combine harvesters in the region. That is not enough, Djurkic said, adding the Centre would try and organise the harvesting by Croatian private entrepreneurs. Speaking about the safety conditions for harvesters and drivers of transporters, Djurkic said that there would most probably be no difficulties and that UNTAES-issued passes only made the work more difficult. Out of 160,000 hectares of arable land in the Danube river region, some 30,000 hectares were sown with wheat this year. (hina) rm jn 191759 MET jun 97