Croatian Agricultural Chamber Proposes Five Producer-Owned 50,000-Tonne Wheat Silos

The Croatian Agricultural Chamber (HPK) has proposed building five grain silos of 50,000 tonnes each, owned by producer organisations, in the five Slavonian counties that account for the largest share of the country's wheat and arable output. The plan, set out in a working document presented on Friday, 11 September 2026 at the 33rd Autumn International Bjelovar Fair in Gudovac, would create 250,000 tonnes of farmer-controlled storage capacity, SEEbiz reported.

Five counties, 250,000 tonnes

According to SEEbiz, the silos would be built in Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonia, Virovitica-Podravina and Vukovar-Srijem counties, one 50,000-tonne facility in each. The document leaves open the possibility of building in other counties where there is demand and sufficient production. Titled “Agriculture 2050: A Vision for Croatian Agriculture – Wheat as the First Major Example”, it was presented by HPK president Željko Mihelić, Ivan Valentić, chairman of the chamber's crop production committee, and deputy chairman Ivica Baranašić.

“After the harvest a farmer often has to sell wheat quickly because they need money. That is when their negotiating position is weakest, and that is exactly what the HPK wants to change. We do not want the state to set the price of wheat — we want the farmer to be able to decide when and to whom to sell,” Mihelić said.

The 25,000-tonne membership test

Ownership would sit with producer organisations rather than with the state or trading houses. To qualify for the project, a producer organisation would have to demonstrate that its members can fill at least 50 percent of a silo's capacity from their own production. For a 50,000-tonne silo that means at least 25,000 tonnes of members' wheat — around 4,000 hectares at an average yield of 6.25 tonnes per hectare, Valentić said, as reported by Glas Slavonije. “That means the silo is not someone else's infrastructure, but the producers' infrastructure,” he said.

Joint procurement is the second leg of the model. “For around 4,000 hectares you can buy seed, mineral fertiliser, crop protection, blue diesel and other inputs together,” Baranašić said. At that scale, he argued, several suppliers can compete for the business and the organisation can negotiate prices and terms, cutting production costs so that more money per hectare stays with the grower.

Financing: 65 percent rural development, 20 percent own funds

Under the proposed structure, 65 percent of the investment would come from rural development measures, 15 percent through a financing model backed by the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), with possible partial write-off of principal, and 20 percent from the producer organisation's own contribution. Before implementation the model must be aligned with European Union rules, national state aid rules and specific financial instruments.

The chamber also proposes warehouse receipt financing of up to nine months, with part of the interest co-financed through de minimis aid, and the leasing of up to 20 percent of capacity to state commodity reserves. Both elements still have to be worked out with financial institutions and the competent state bodies. The silos would be run by a professional management team responsible for procurement, storage, financing, logistics, sales and exports, and accountable to the producers for results.

Export ambitions and rising input costs

The HPK says an export strategy, including an approach to Middle Eastern, Arab and North African markets, should rest on concrete market analysis, buyer requirements, product quality, logistics and trade terms. For farmers, the chamber lists cheaper input purchasing, storage of their own wheat, credit secured against stored goods, no forced sale straight after harvest, more potential buyers and greater bargaining power; for the country, stronger domestic production, more secure supply, strategic stocks and higher export potential.

The proposal lands in a costly period for Croatian agriculture. Glas Slavonije, citing Eurostat, reported that in the second quarter Croatia shared with Malta the position of the EU country with the largest increase in agricultural product prices, at 3.9 percent year on year, and ranked among the member states with the strongest growth in farm input costs. The rise was milder than at the start of the year, when prices were 8.6 percent higher than a year earlier. Vegetables were 7.8 percent more expensive in the second quarter after falling 12 percent year on year in the first; beans rose by almost 25 percent in the spring months and fresh fruit by about 4 percent.

The chamber stresses that the document is a basis for public debate, not a scientific paper or an investment study. The cost calculations form a working model, and the template of at least 4,000 hectares and a 50,000-tonne silo is an initial strategic proposal. Production base, location, logistics, capacity, investment value, ownership model, funding sources and business viability would have to be determined for each centre after the public discussion. “Whether they farm 50 or 500 hectares, farmers must become entities that decide,” Mihelić said.