This year's partner is the Spanish town of Jerez de los Caballeros with which Tinjan municipality in Istria County will sign a letter of friendship.
Addressing the event, Jakovina said that agencies assessing the advantages of EU membership for Croatia put prosciutto and original smoked and cured meats in the first place.
He said he was glad that a seven-year EU ban on the import of Croatian pork and live pigs had been lifted, saying it could increase Croatian exports to Europe.
The tourist season has been very successful, but it would not have been so without the wine and food offer, including prosciutto and olive oil, said Jakovina.
Istria County Prefect Ivan Jakovcic said prosciutto would become the first protected Croatian product in the EU.
The two-day event includes for the first time an eco-fair featuring 15 exhibitors as well as a round table on transport connections for tourism purposes and lectures on the certification of eco-products and pooling of producers.