AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in Croatia is well developed. Of a total of 3 million hectares of agricultural land, 61.3 per cent is cultivated and the rest is pasture land. 82 per cent of the cultivated land is privately-owned.

Crop production is especially well developed, covering the domestic needs for cereals, while cattle breeding accounts for almost 40 per cent of agriculture-generated GDP. Croatia has also a well-developed fishing and fish-processing industry, and is rapidly developing marine-culture production.

Of a total of 2,100,000 hectares of the Croatian forests and woodland areas, 76 per cent is state-owned and the rest is in private hands. Conifers make up 11 per cent of the forests, while in the remainder oak and beech are among the more important broad-leaved species. The annual biomass growth is 4m3 per hectare, of which 70 per cent is felled. Based on its rich resources of high quality timber, Croatia has a well developed wood-processing industry with 40,000 employees and annual exports in this area of 350 million USD.