ZAGREB, September 13, 2020 - The drop in prices caused by the coronavirus crisis adversely affects meat production in Croatia, according to an analysis of the Smarter consulting firm specialised in agriculture and the food industry.
The analysis, released recently by Smarter, warns that the price of a side of pork dropped by 14.7% on the year in the EU while in Croatia it fell by 6.2%, which means that the price of pork on the domestic market was 7% higher compared to the average price in the EU.
However, this means that domestic farmers cannot compete with the prices of pork from the EU and that surplus meat from the EU will quickly end up on the Croatian market, bringing down the price of domestic meat, Smarter underscored.
The price of a side of veal is now 8% lower than the EU average, they pointed out.
There was a dramatic fall in demand in the HORECA (Hotel/Restaurant/Cafe) sector on the Italian market due to the coronavirus crisis, and export to the Middle East was halted and reduced, which resulted in a sudden surplus in domestic veal, Smarter said.
According to the analysis, despite the short-term measures taken by the Agriculture Ministry to help the sectors, it is much more important what kind of impact such trends could have on long-term meat production in Croatia and the position of farmers.
A positive trend in the pig sector is the 7% increase in self-sufficiency, and Croatia was one of the few countries in the EU to register an increase in pork consumption per capita, which is 13% above the EU average, Smarter noted.
At the same time, self-sufficiency in beef production dropped by 6%, they said.
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