ANALISYS OF CROATIAN SUGAR SECTOR AND SUGAR BEET PRODUCTION

In the Republic of Croatia, sugar beet plays a great role in agriculture, processing industry and food industry. Unfortunately, its acreage is decreasing every year. Between 2015 and 2019, sugar beet was grown on 14,902 ha with an average yield of 62.5 t ha(-1). In the last two decades, three sugar beet factories were active in the country, but since 2019 only two have been in operation. Sugar beet is still an economically important crop and requires a high proportion of human and mechanised labor. Its cultivation in Croatia has a great advantage over other crops such as cereals (wheat, maize), because the conditions for its purchase and its price are known in advance, which ensures its sale. Sugar beet production in Croatia is led by large enterprises, and by agricultural cooperatives and family farms (micro, small and medium-sized farms).