ZAGREB, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Croatian manufacturers of agricultural products are looking forward to exporting their best to China.
Croatia's agriculture ministry expects the Chinese inspectors to visit the largest Croatian producers of milk and dairy products in order to be convinced of the quality of the products, an official with the ministry said Saturday.
China has simplified the procedure for obtaining a license for the import of food products since March, which makes it easier for Croatian exporters to place their goods on the Chinese market.
The export license, among others, is expected by Paska Sirana, the cheese producer based on the island of Pag in northern Adriatic, whose "Pag cheese" is one of the most famous Croatian agricultural products.
"We have already sent samples to China and the reactions are very positive. The Chinese market can only be won with the top quality products, but there should be also a greater amount of export goods," Ante Ostaric, Managing Director of Pasko Sirana, told local media.
The interest of the Croatian olive oil producers for exporting to China is also growing. The Sardina company from the Island of Brac, which already exports canned fish, is planning to export tuna.
According to Croatian Bureau of Statistics, in the first three months of this year, the commodity exports from Croatia to China were worth 220 million Croatian kuna (34.6 million U.S. dollars), which is 15.7 percent more than the same period in 2017, while imports from China increased 30.4 percent to 1.58 billion kuna.