Public entities in Slovenia are obliged to comply with the Public Procurement Act and the Ordinance on Green Public Procurement when making public procurement of vegetables. The aim of public procurement is to ensure economical, efficient and transparent use of public funds without favoring individual bidders. In most cases, the main criterion for selecting a bidder is the lowest price. One of the exceptions to the selection of a tenderer is foodstuffs included in the quality schemes and foodstuffs that comply with the quality regulations or have been grown and processed in a sustainable manner. The legal bases allow bidders to award a public contract outside the public procurement procedures if the estimated value does not exceed 20 % of the value of the excluded lots, except VAT, or up to a maximum of EUR 80,000. This legal derogation gives public bodies the possibility to offer locally grown vegetables to their users. Once the relationship between the bidder and the producer is established, it is usually reliable and lasting. The positive impact of the collaboration is reflected in the grower's successful business operations, the corresponding safe and high-quality vegetables and the reduced environmental footprint. This ensures a sustainable supply of selected locally grown vegetables to public institutions. The self-sufficiency rate for vegetables in Slovenia was only 43 % in 2019. The proportion of locally produced vegetables supplied to public institutions is not known, and it would be necessary to create a model to monitor the actual quantities supplied. This data could be used to determine whether the current legal measures are serving their purpose.
|
