What is the future of food in Croatia? Prices up 37% in four years

While inflation is slowing down and food prices are stabilising, citizens remain discontent in Croatia.

Over the past four years, the cost of food has surged by 37%, and the trend of increased imports of agricultural products continues this year, HRT reports.

What can we expect, and what are the greatest challenges?

Croatia is self-sufficient only in the production of cereals and oilseeds, while the country imports most of its meat, milk, fruit, and vegetables.

Six new logistics and distribution centres promise greater productivity for producers.

“We are constructing the largest logistics centre in Croatia, equipped with the most modern storage technology. This could reduce the need for labour and is likely to lead to price stabilisation,” Luka Cvitan, manager of the producer organisation JabukaHR told HRT.

Apple harvest down by 30% in the EU, bad news for egg producers

The apple harvest in the European market could be down by as much as 30%, partly due to climate change. The outlook is also bleak for our egg producers.

Food imports growing five times faster than exports

Food imports are growing five times faster than exports, and this trend needs to be reversed.

“Meat and milk account for 35% of our trade deficit, yet absurdly, we export oilseeds and cereals that contribute over 90% to our trade surplus,” explained Dragan Kovačević, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Agriculture and Tourism.

Climate change is also significantly impacting the poor yields and low profits of our farmers.

“This year has been particularly challenging for food production due to severe weather conditions. Few crops are likely to reach the production levels of previous years, and we hope this will not be reflected in food prices,” said Zvjezdana Blažić, a consultant for the food industry and agriculture.

Many challenges ahead for producers

Producers clearly face many challenges.

“It’s good that we’ve started building silos to prevent the export of cereals while importing bread, but the fact is that we must completely transform our agricultural production. We need to integrate it with the food and processing industries to stop exporting raw materials and importing finished products,” warned Marijana Petir, MP and Chair of the Agriculture Committee.

The European budget has allocated a significant €5 billion to Croatian agriculture, but unfortunately, the results of investments in sustainable and competitive production are yet to be seen.