Storage for vegetables for southeast Europe - "Lučić" group intends to revive Sombor-based "Panonka"

Food industry "Panonka" in Sombor has been closed for years. This huge capacity, designed to annually process 500,000 fattened pigs, 40,000 fattened calves and cars loaded with vegetables, can not find the buyer. The last offer has arrived from Spain. Potential buyer has offered the price of 1 EUR, as well as the investment of 2.5m EUR in the factory. However, the Privatization Agency refused the offer because of some 600,000 or 700,000 EUR.

Two months ago, "Panonka" was rented by "Lučić" group, which has its members in nearby Prigrevica and Kikinda. This company, which had the crops of over 20,000 tons at about 1,000 ha in 2009, did not find the cold storage plant of "Panonka", with the capacity of 10,000 tons, big enough, so that it had to rent the remaining space where slaughterhouse products used to be made.

- We rented "Panonka" on the period of one year, but also sent the letter of intent because we are very interested in purchasing this former slaughterhouse for storing about 50,000 tons of vegetables and turning it into the storage and distribution center for southeast Europe - says Predrag Lučić, the first man of "Lučić" group.

"Panonka" was built in the 1980's. Office space occupies 280,000 square meters, while the indoor space is at 140,000 square meters. Infrastructure is almost complete, including the substations of big strength and wastewater main sewer. According to the estimates of the experts from "Lučić" group, in addition to current 150 workers, about 200 people should get jobs in the factory soon. The Center for processing seeds of agricultural herbs, worth 2.5m EUR, should be built in Prigrevica and employ about 200 people. There will also be cooperation with larger number of small individual farms. People in "Lučić" group are already mentioning some contracts on delivery of vegetables to large market chains in Austria and Romania.

People in whole Sombor, not only in "Panonka", are impatient to hear the response of the Privatization Agency. Of course, the public don't know what is written in the letter of intent, how much "Lučić" group can pay and how much the state will ask for its capital. People here are pointing out that the main activity will not be changed. Some products from local cold storage plants used to be offered in the markets in Munich and some other cities of Europe.