Mandarins & Olive Oil Latest Croatian Products to Get EU Protection Status

Mandarins from the Neretva region and olive oil from the island of Cres are the latest Croatian products to receive EU geographical origin labels…

The Ministry of Agriculture have reported that EU Commission had registered Neretvanska mandarina (Neretva mandarins) and Ekstra djevicansko maslinovo ulje Cres (extra virgin olive oil Cres) in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications on Wednesday.

It has been a long process to get the products protection status. The application process for the Cres olive oil started in 2009. The production of Cres olive oil is limited to the island of Cres. 90% of the olives must be a specific species while the remaining 10% may be other olive species. What makes the olive oil unique is that the olive groves are cultivated with the help of grazing sheep, which stops weeds the spreading of weeds and helps keeps the soil moist.

Neretva mandarines are produced in the south of the country, in the Neretva Valley in the Dubrovacko-Neretvanska County, between the cities of Metkovic and Opuzen with around 80,000 tonnes of first class mandarins produced every season.