The food processing industry lacks boldness, but it does not lack ingenuity

Representatives of numerous Slovenian agricultural and food companies met on Tuesday, June 9, at the InterContinental Hotel in Ljubljana for the 25th Agricultural and Food Companies Summit. The event was organized by the Chamber of Agricultural and Food Companies at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (SCPA) was also there, as the Department for the Prevention of Abuses in the Food Supply Chain is one of its important areas of activity. Representatives of the aforementioned chamber, chaired by dr. Tatjana Zagorc, among other things, they pointed out that it is not possible to (survive) without food, and that it is the (Slovenian) food processing industry that must largely provide 2,135,000 Slovenians with the 4.81 billion kilocalories they need daily, which is equivalent to 2,914 tons of poultry meat or 5,526 tons of potatoes or 3,670 tons of pasta or 19,320 tons of cauliflower, and this 365 times a year.
They also drew attention to the necessity of Slovenian food self-sufficiency, also from a strategic perspective, and to the nurturing of Slovenian brands in the field of food, as well as to the malnutrition of personnel both on farms and in the food processing industry. State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture Velislav Žvipelj warned, who did not mince words when he said that Slovenian food is the best, delicious and strategic. At the same time, Žvipelj is convinced that food security in Slovenia is our common interest, which is why the Ministry of Agriculture is in favor of investments in this area. Agrarian economist dr. Aleš Kuhar recalled that we are net importers of processed food in Slovenia, but our food processing industry operated extremely successfully according to all indicators in 2025. Namely, 842 companies with 16,422 employees achieved 3.64 billion euros in sales revenue, of which 1.46 billion euros were on foreign markets. Kuhar warned that a satisfied and full farmer and an agricultural policy favorable to this do not necessarily bring food options, and at the same time, it is necessary to "pour yourself a clean wine", that the Slovenian buyer is not always loyal to local brands and does not always bet on quality over price, because otherwise foreign discount retailers would not be so successful with their offer in our country.
Dr. Peter Wostner from the Office of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia is convinced that we are too concerned with how we will spend and not enough about how we will invest. Productivity is key, Wostner believes, but since unfavorable demographic indicators are dragging us down, we should work longer or work more, but he believes that most of us will choose the third option - working better, which means that we will have to focus on innovation. The food processing industry in Slovenia is said to be considered not bold enough, but on the other hand, resourceful, which is why we somehow manage to hide the poor productivity data and lower level of digitalization. But the key, according to Peter Wostner, will be to direct investments into the right things, and to produce what customers want, and the product will be different from what is already on the shelves. "In the face of a staff shortage, it is not enough to talk about how important our employees are to us, we must also constantly invest in their development and progress," explains Wostner.