New supports for producer groups for protected designations worth up to 20,000 euros

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) No. 117/2026 of October 14, 2026, the Ordinance on the Implementation of the Support Program for Producer Groups for the Drafting or Amendment of Specifications for Protected Designations of Origin, Protected Geographical Indications, and Guaranteed Traditional Specialities for Agricultural and Food Products in 2026, under official item 1392. The Ordinance is signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister David Vlajčić, and enters into force on the eighth day following the date of publication.

The Ordinance is adopted based on Article 39 and Article 85 paragraph 4 of the Agriculture Act (“Official Gazette” No. 118/18, 42/20, 127/20, 52/21, 152/22, and 152/24), and implements the Program adopted by the Government of the Republic of Croatia by Decision class 022-03/26-04/365, registry number 50301-27/15-26-3 of September 14, 2026. The Ordinance itself was signed in Zagreb on September 29, 2026, under class 310-26/25-01/112 and registry number 525-13/905-26-18.

The framework is European: the terms protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and guaranteed traditional speciality (TSG) are adopted from Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 11, 2024, on geographical indications, which repealed Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. The Ordinance does not apply to wines and spirit drinks.

Who can receive support and how much

Eligible beneficiaries are producer groups, regardless of legal status, registered in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, which have at least half of their members producing and placing the product from the specification on the market, and possess a decision from the competent body of the group to initiate the procedure for name protection or specification amendment.

• total support: up to 80% of eligible costs per beneficiary
• drafting a specification for a name to be protected: up to 20,000.00 euros
• amendment of a specification for already registered names: up to 5,000.00 euros
• maximum of two applications per beneficiary within one public call

What is co-financed

When drafting a new specification, eligible costs include the drafting of the specification itself up to 20,000.00 euros, laboratory tests up to 5,000.00 euros, and market survey research up to 2,000.00 euros. The survey is eligible only if conducted on at least 1,000 respondents by an entity registered for market research.

When amending a specification for already registered names, eligible costs include the amended specification with justifications up to 5,000.00 euros, laboratory tests up to 3,000.00 euros, and market survey research up to 2,000.00 euros. The cost of VAT is eligible for all listed activities.

Public call, selection, and beneficiary obligations

The allocation of funds is carried out via a Public Call published and implemented by the Ministry on the website poljoprivreda.gov.hr. The application must be submitted exclusively by registered mail with return receipt, in a sealed envelope, to the address of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (for the Directorate for Livestock and Food Quality), Ulica grada Vukovara 78, 10 000 Zagreb.

Administrative control and ranking of applications are carried out by a Commission established by the Ministry, and based on its proposal, a collective Decision on the allocation of funds and/or individual Decisions on the rejection of requests are issued. Priority in selection is given to requests for the modification of specifications for already registered names, and among those, to those with a larger number of producers in the quality system. If the total amount of received requests exceeds the funds secured in the State Budget, the support per beneficiary is proportionally reduced.

The obligations of the support beneficiaries are as follows:

• spend the allocated funds within 18 months from the date of payment
• submit a final financial report with copies of invoices and bank transactions within 19 months
• submit a request for the protection of the product name or a request for the modification of the specification within 19 months
• keep the original documentation for at least five years after the payment of support

No appeal is permitted against acts issued under this Ordinance, but an administrative dispute may be initiated in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 2 of the General Administrative Procedure Act (“Narodne novine” No. 47/09 and 110/21).

For small and medium groups of producers, associations, and cooperatives that are just starting the name protection process, the new framework means that the state assumes the largest part of the cost of preparing the specification, laboratory analyses, and market research. This shortens the path from a local product to a registered name at the European Union level and strengthens the protection of recognizable Croatian agricultural and food products on the market.

Source: Narodne novine, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia, volume CLXXXVIII, number 117/2026, Zagreb, October 14, 2026, item 1392 – Ordinance on the implementation of the Support Program for producer groups for the preparation or modification of specifications for protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications, and guaranteed traditional specialties for agricultural and food products in 2026 (class 310-26/25-01/112, urbroj 525-13/905-26-18).