Slovenian farmers lack the knowledge to market their products, while co-operatives are too often unwilling to help them, a conference on Slovenian agriculture has heard. According to the participants of a round table on the cooperation between co-operatives, the food-processing industry and retailers, Slovenian farmers must find an appropriate sales pitch to woo over consumers, while focusing on producing high-quality goods.
The participants underscored that agriculture in Slovenia and Europe faces the same problem: dwindling importance in the economy. Although half of all Europeans live in rural areas, agriculture only produces two percent of all gross domestic product.
The head of the Slovenian Association of Co-operatives and the president of the Agriculture Chamber Peter Vrisk reiterated his view that Slovenian farmers are facing unfair competition from cheap foreign products.
He believes that Slovenian farmers must find a way to convince consumers that their products are of a better quality than the imports. "If we cannot keep Slovenian consumers, we deserve to have foreign competition push us aside," he said, adding that Slovenian farmers needed to convince consumers to pay more for high-quality Slovenian products.
Agriculture Minister Marija Lukacic stressed that the Slovenian environment is suited to the production of high-quality agricultural goods. However, selling them at higher prices requires a better sales pitch. Moreover, she announced that a bill on the promotion of Slovenian agriculture was in the works in a bid to help farmers sell their goods.
Lukacic also warned against the shrinking of Slovenia's agricultural land on account of farming intensity. According to her, a Slovenian farmer now cultivates 1 hectare of land on average, which is less than half of that 30 years ago and among the least anywhere in Europe. This could prove a big problem in case of drought, she said.
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