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Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday amended the Animal Husbandry Act regulating conditions for the breeding and protection of the Carniolan honey bee, a species native to Croatia and favoured among bee-keepers for its extraordinary production traits.
The Carniolan honey bee is the main pollinator of fruit and crops and it is estimated that it pollinates more than 80% of flowering plants and 70% of crops in the country.
The parliament also passed legislative amendments to put an end to unfair trade practices in the food supply chain, expanding the scope of such practices from 33 to 43 and including all unprocessed farm products and not just food products.
Under the amended law, all buyers with a turnover of more than HRK 15 million have significant negotiating power and are covered by the law. Before the latest legislative changes, the turnover threshold was HRK 50 million, or 100 million for supermarkets.
The amended law also defines particularly sensitive products - meat, milk and dairy products, edible oil, sugar, flour, fruit and vegetables, as well as sales prices for those products.
Also amended was the Agriculture Act, under which the parliament is authorised to adopt agricultural and bio-economy strategies at the government's proposal.
Under the amended law, programmes for the promotion of Croatian farm and food products are implemented by sector, and the law also envisages obligatory training and expert and technical assistance to farmers in using electronic cards.
The law also envisages, among other things, the adoption of a plan to prevent food wastage.
The parliament today also voted in amendments to the laws on the veterinary sector and official controls.