Veles producer Kristal 1923 says it was excluded from IPARD final list despite two preliminary listings
The Veles oil mill says it appeared on two preliminary lists but was left off the final beneficiaries after a call published on July 12, 2024.
Veles-based edible oil producer "Kristal 1923" has publicly disputed the outcome of the European Union's IPARD allocations from the 2024 call, saying it was removed from the final beneficiary list despite appearing on two preliminary lists.
The company says it applied for €1.5 million and that on the second preliminary list it was placed 21st out of 43 applicants. According to Kristal 1923, several firms that did not appear on either preliminary list are included among the final beneficiaries.
What IPARD is and who manages the funds
IPARD (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development) is the EU programme and fund aimed at modernising agriculture in North Macedonia. On the ground, the procedure is administered by the Agency for Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development (AFSARD), the body that publishes calls, evaluates applications and carries out payments.
"We cannot find a reason why we were rejected. We were on both preliminary lists, and on the second with more points because we are a buyer of sunflower that we then process. To our great surprise, we were not on the final list. But there were other companies that were not on the previous lists. It was initially announced that results would be published by December 2024, and the call was issued on July 12, 2024. During these two years we did not receive any information about the course of the procedure, what is happening, why it was delayed," says Olgica Stojanova, production director at "Kristal 1923".
The producer is asking for clarification about why its application was excluded and why the selection process took over two years without updates. Kristal 1923 says it has no official explanation for the discrepancy between preliminary and final lists.
Photo: СДК.МК)
