In the event of a humanitarian disaster which might be provoked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Croatia's Commodity Stockpiles are ready to respond, the Economy Ministry's State Secretary Ivo Milatic told the parliament on Thursday.

“We are ready for, God forbid, a disaster. If we were prepared to tackle the (aftermath of floods in) Gunja, freezing rain in Gorski Kotar, the migrant crisis, two earthquakes, COVID, we will be ready to deal with this, too,” Milatic said while answering a question from member of parliament Marijana Puljak, who wondered whether the buffer stocks would suffice for the needs considering the developments and “a war that commenced 500 kilometres away from us.”

During a discussion on a new bill on strategic commodity stockpiles, Milatic informed the legislature that warehouses currently stored commodities worth more than 500 million kuna.

On top of that, the state budget is also in good shape to respond, just as it ensured 800 million kuna in the aftermath of the quakes and during the COVID crisis, he added.

The government runs the Commodity Stockpiles and is supposed to notify the parliament once a year about the state of affairs in that sector.

The new bill specifies that the basic agricultural produce, foodstuffs and non-food commodities as well as basic drugs, vaccines, antidotes and medical supplies comprise commodity stockpiles.