THE FOOD INDUSTRY & MARKET IN SLOVENIA THE FOOD INDUSTRY & MARKET IN SLOVENIA December 2013 Food Production & Processing Food Niche Markets Distribution Channels December 2013 Flanders Investment & Trade Ljubljana Paul Vanoverloop – Flemish Economic Representative Barbara Čeč – Assistant Food Sector / Slovenia| December 2013 _________________________________________________________ 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 General information on Slovenia's economy ................................................................................... 3 2 A general introduction to Slovenia’s food sector ............................................................................. 4 3 Slovenia’s food production ............................................................................................................... 5 3.1. Agricultural land (survey) ...................................................................................................... 5 3.2. Agricultural production ........................................................................................................ 5 3.3. Production of cereals & meat: self-sufficiency? ................................................................... 5 3.4. Production of milk and cheese ........................................................................................... 11 4 Food processing industry ................................................................................................................ 12 4.1. Beer industry: Pivovarna Laško and Pivovarna Union ........................................................ 12 4.2. Bakery, pasta: Pekarna Vrhnika / Dolenske pekarne (Žito) and Mlinotest ......................... 13 4.3. Chocolates and confectionery: Gorenjka (Žito), Dobnik, Rajska Ptica ................................ 13 4.4. Dairy: Ljubljanske mlekarne, Pomurske mlekarne, Mlekarna Celeia .................................. 13 4.5. Droga Kolinska d.d. ............................................................................................................. 14 4.6. Meat processors: Kras en Panvita MIR d.d. ........................................................................ 14 4.7. Poultry meat processor: Perutnina Ptuj and Pivka Perutninarstvo .................................... 14 4.8. Soft drinks and water: Fructal and Radenska ..................................................................... 14 4.9. Specialised food processors: Etol and Mercator-Emba ...................................................... 15 4.10. Wine producers: 3 main regions Podravje, Posavje and Primorska ................................... 15 4.11. Žito group ........................................................................................................................... 15 5 Niche markets and opportunities ................................................................................................... 15 5.1. Bread and bakery products ................................................................................................. 16 5.2. Milk and dairy products ...................................................................................................... 19 5.3. Meat and meat products .................................................................................................... 20 5.4. Bio-food .............................................................................................................................. 25 5.5. Food ingredients & nutrition supplements......................................................................... 28 5.6. Ready-made meals ............................................................................................................. 31 5.7. Frozen food ......................................................................................................................... 31 5.8. Chocolate and confectionery products ............................................................................... 33 5.9. Specialty beers .................................................................................................................... 37 5.10. Non-alcoholic and soft drinks ............................................................................................. 39 6 Food retail market .......................................................................................................................... 41 6.1. Mercator ............................................................................................................................. 41 6.2. TUŠ and Spar ....................................................................................................................... 41 6.3. Discount retailers ................................................................................................................ 41 6.4. Opportunities for Flemish SME’s ........................................................................................ 41 7 Associations, fairs and useful links ................................................................................................. 43 7.1. Associations ........................................................................................................................ 43 7.2. Trade Fairs .......................................................................................................................... 44 7.3. Useful links .......................................................................................................................... 44 2 _____________________________________________________________ 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ON SLOVENIA'S ECONOMY SLOVENIA: MEMBER OF EURO-ZONE SINCE 1/1/2007 Slovenia was part of the Central-European (‘CE’) countries joining the European Union in May 2004 and was the first CE country to join the Euro-zone on 1 January 2007. This joining of the Euro-zone, which went on quite smoothly, highlights that the country's economy was and still is the most advanced in Central-Europe. As a matter of fact, Slovenia's wealth is quite well up to EU-averages: GDP per capita, which is commonly used to measure a nation's wealth, had reached 90% of the EU-27 average in 2008 (cf. IMAD's overview on page 4) but has slipped back, in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, to ca 82% of EU-average. SLOVENIA’S ECONOMY WENT INTO RECESSION FROM 2009 ON Slovenia’s economy showed a decent growth till mid 2008 when the worldwide financial and economic crisis started to take its toll. Slovenia's GDP decreased 8% in 2009. GDP growth was again positive in 2010 and 2011, with +1.4% and 0.6% respectively, but only shortly. In 2012, Slovenia’s economy dipped again into recession, with a negative GDP growth of 2.5%. The European Commission published beginning November 2013 its autumn predictions for the EU- economies. The EC predicts for Slovenia a negative GDP growth in 2013 (- 2.7%) and even still in 2014 (-1%), when Slovenia will be the only EU-economy, together with Cyprus, to show still a negative GDP growth. Slovenia’s economy is predicted to grow from 2015 on. INFLATION AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) In the period 2004-2006, Slovenia's inflation (end-of-year) remained at a relatively low and stable level between 2.3% (2005) and 3.2% (2004). Ironically, inflation shot up in the year 2007, when Slovenia joined the Euro-zone, to a level as high as 5.6%. Some observers believe that this higher inflation in recent years is not only a result of higher economic growth but also of internal market imperfections (absence of foreign competition). CPI dropped in 2009 to 0.9% in 2009 but then hovered around its normal level of 2.1% in the period 2010-2013 (the only exception being 2012, when the CPI-index reached 2.8%). UNEMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR MARKET In the period 2000-2005, registered unemployment remained stubbornly above the psychological mark of 10%. Only in 2006, it dropped below this 10% level, so as to drop further to 7.7% in 2007 and to 4.5% in 2008. In the period 2009-2012, unemployments till remained under the psychological level of 10%. However, as from 2013 on, the EC expects Slovenia’s unemployment to exceed the 11% level. Also, one should be aware that in some less economically developed regions of Slovenia, employment already reached levels of 15%. FOREIGN TRADE, GROSS DEBT AND BUDGET DEFICIT Most of Slovenia's foreign trade is with EU (70% of exports and 75% of imports, typically), with Slovenia usually having a trade deficit. In the first two months of 2009 both exports to and imports from EU decreased vs. 2008 with 25% and 30% respectively, causing the export/import ratio to improve to 95% (87% in 2008 Q3). Slovenia's typical external trade deficit also applies to food products. Due to the economic crisis, Slovenia's budget deficit Food Sector / Slovenia| December 2013 _________________________________________________________ 3 worsened from -0,9% in 2008 to -5.5% and -6.5% of GDP in respectively 2009 and 2010. Another negative result of the 2008-2009 financial crisis is the evolution of Slovenia’s Gross Debt: it raised from 22.8% in 2008 to 54.41% in 2012, when it still managed to stay under the Maastricht-norm of 60%. In 2013, Slovenia’s gross debt is expected to come out at 63% and is expected to raise further to 70% in 2014 and 74% in 2015. PROSPECTS FOR SLOVENIA’S ECONOMY AS OF END 2013 Mid 2013, Slovenia’s economy is in a deep recession and in serious troubles, even so that the country was, at one moment, rumored to be a next candidate for an EU-rescue, after the rescue of Cyprus in the beginning of 2013. Slovenia’s economy