Best Croatian pršut is declared 

Zoran Ćevid is this year’s champion (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

POREČ, June 18, 2021 – Pršut from Drniške Delicije Maran in Drniš has been declared the champion at the Days of Croatian Pršut currently being held in Poreč. 

The 7th edition of the Days of Croatian Pršut is being held over two days in Porec and on Friday the awards for the best pršut took place. 

Zoran Ćevid, the owner of Drniške Delicije Maran, is the winner of this award for the second time. He last won two years ago in Zagreb.

“Work, work and love for work, but also experience and knowledge are needed to be the pršut champion. I am glad that the potential and quality of Drniš pršut, which is one of the strongest Dalmatian brands, has been confirmed once again,” said this year’s winner.

Velibor Mačkić and Zoran Ćevid (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

In order to raise the level of quality, increase capacity and the possibility of better and better product placement, in recent years, intensive investment has been made in pršut in Croatia. Pršut production is growing from year to year, but still does not cover half of Croatia’s consumption, said Darko Markotić, president of the Croatian Pršut Cluster.

(Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

“Of course, I don’t mean last year when we had a big drop in spending due to the pandemic crisis that showed us how much this country depends on tourism. That is why we want to send a message from Poreč, from Istria, which is the leader of Croatian tourism, to how important tourism is to pršut makers for the placement of our products. Due to last year’s bad season, the consumption of pršut dropped by about thirty percent. We are organising these days in the tourist centres of Croatia to show how important the synergy of tourism and domestic production is,” said Markotić.

Darko Markotić (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

Velibor Mačkić, part of the envoy of the Croatian President Zoran Milanović, agreed with him. He compared tourism with an exhibition where autochthonous and exceptionally high-quality products can be presented and placed. He emphasised the importance of small economies, which are typical of pršut farming, and stressed the need to unite them in order to achieve even greater success.

(Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

“When we talk about leg and shoulder products, which include pršut, production fell by ten percent compared to 2019. On the other hand, we had a reduction in the foreign trade deficit and a thirty percent increase in exports. Such an export result is a consequence of the pandemic, the lack of tourist consumption and the blockade of the HORECA channel, which is why producers have found alternative sales and export channels, especially through retail chains. Just to illustrate – last year we had 50 million fewer overnight stays, which is when it is calculated as if a city the size of Rijeka and its surroundings has disappeared,” concluded Dragan Kovačević, Vice President for Agriculture and Tourism of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

Dragan Kovačević (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

Zdravko Barać, there on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković and the director of the Directorate for Livestock and Quality pointed out that the relevant ministry is aware that pršut producers have problems with domestic raw materials.

“That is why we are trying to encourage domestic pig production through a series of measures. At the moment, we are processing the tender under Measure 4.1.1 of the Rural Development Program, where we have provided HRK 300 million for the construction of repro centers. We expect to increase the population of sows between 15 thousand and 20 thousand, which means 300 thousand fattened pigs from domestic production annually,” said Barać.

Milan Antolović and Dragan Kovačević (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

Tulio Demetlika, Deputy Prefect of Istria County and Loris Peršurić, Mayor of Poreč, spoke about the importance of Istrian pršut in the eno-gastronomic offer and expressed satisfaction that two top events are taking place in Poreč this weekend. 

Loris Peršurić (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

Tulio Demetlika (Photo credit: Danilo Dragosavac)

In addition to the Days of Croatian Pršut, the 27th Vinistra is held in Peškera Bay, and wine and prosciutto have always been an inseparable part of the Istrian tradition. They invited the citizens of Poreč and guests to take a walk on Saturday from 8 am to 6 pm to the renovated City Waterfront, where the best Croatian pršut and, of course, this year’s champion will be presented.