Gov't defines list of owners of speculative stocks of sugar

The government on Thursday defined a list of 134 owners of speculative stocks of sugar with a total of 37.1 tonnes of sugar.

According to European Union regulations, Croatia was obliged to put together a list of companies that on the day of Croatia's accession to the Union had surplus stocks of sugar.

The starting volume of 60,000 tonnes, set by the European Commission, was reduced through negotiation to 37.1 tonnes with 134 companies, which have to export this sugar to third markets outside the EU by September 30.

Agriculture Minister Tihomir Jakovina said that he did not expect any loss to the state budget because of this, and only if the obligation was not met would the budget be penalised and that would in turn be compensated for from the companies who do not meet export quotas.

The government adopted a report on the use of budget provisions for February. Finance Minister Boris Lalovac reported that in the first two months of the year HRK 121 worth of provisions had been expended and that another HRK 79 million remained for the rest of the year.

He mentioned that HRK 24 million had been spent on housing reconstruction in flood affected areas and another HRK 596,000 on the President's inauguration ceremony while more than HRK 100,000 went to pay for court costs in disputes before the European Court of Human Rights.

(Hina) sp

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