The impact of Belje on economic development of Baranja

For centuries, the fertile plains of Baranja, a region between the Danube and Drava, produces food. The beginning of Belje dates back to 1697th year when Prince Eugene of Savoy, for his many military successes, especially for the victory over the Turks at Senta, received a feudal estate as a gift from the Austrian Emperor Leopold I which he called Bilje (the Hungarian pronunciation of the village, Bellye). For centuries, Belje has been and still is the mainstay of the development of Baranja. This paper will focus particularly on the development of Belje and Baranja, since Agrokor’s entering as a majority owner, and on many capital investments that were carried out during this period, which greatly helped the development of Baranja. Entering Agrokor concern on 21st March 2005, Belje builds its future within the largest food manufacturer in this part of Europe. Agrokor connects all companies in the concern into a unique managing, financial and business system. This way the strategic position and development of Baranja and Belje were influenced, while exploiting all the synergies and other potentials in order to achieve maximum results, winning market positions in Croatia and abroad, ensuring full employment, utilization of production capacity, achieving maximum revenue and profit for both the Belje, and for the region where the company gravitates. Introducing the world's most advanced technology, Belje also follows the trend of organic food production, environmental standards and is completely market oriented. As it can be seen from the title of the paper, the purpose of the research is to determine the effect of a large company like Belje d.d. on the development of a region, in this case, Baranja. The primary method of the research is analysis, with emphasis on the analysis of the impact of the development of Belje, primarily towards Baranja. Years after Agrokor’s entering were marked by significant investments, new pig and cattle farms, new crops, new livestock products factory, “Vina Belje” wine complex, complete renovation of agricultural machinery... The period that follows provides a number of investments, such as a new hotel on the site of the old winery, the new slaughterhouse, bio facilities ...