May the 25th, 2023 - With inflation still very much a threat to our bank accounts and back pockets, are Croatian prices going to just keep on rising? It seems that the period of cheap food might well be one we don't end up ever returning to.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the consequences of the global coronavirus pandemic and the current energy crisis, as well as numerous natural disasters caused by climate change, have led to a drastic increase in Croatian prices for food over more recent years, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has only pushed it further. The big question is whether food will ever become cheap again, and this topic was discussed at the Green Plan in Croatian Agriculture conference, which was recently held in Zagreb.

The European Union (EU) has provided an enormous 264 billion euros to European farmers, and with various other national funds, this amount will be increased to 307 billion euros in total. How will this all actually reflect on customers who are tired of paying constantly increasing Croatian prices, however?

Marija Vuckovic, Croatia's Minister of Agriculture, confirmed that this country has now almost completely implemented the EU Green Plan in its national regulations, and now their application in practice, among the farmers themselves, is underway. She added that in the wake of numerous ecological European requirements, several additional models of agricultural incentives were introduced through the so-called Environmental schemes that will be generous, but also stricter in terms of achieving any desired goals.

"This regards the sum of 468 million euros payable through the Environmental Schemes over a period of five years, and it's been made clear that these are large funds. So far, we have supported 300 projects for energy projects of renewable energy sources in the field of agriculture, and for the next period, we've foreseen 30 million euros for future projects in agriculture and nutrition,'' said Vuckovic, adding that all other green transition projects within the scope of agriculture are being considered, for which a total of 223 million euros is planned.

Ultimately, the strategic project is the generational renewal of domestic agriculture through the inclusion of young people in this sector because, as the minister pointed out, agriculture will not be sustainable in the long term without the engagement of that demographic. She warned that the policies related to the green transition are all connected because without investments there can be no profitable production, and without that, there can be no sustainable regional development with functional rural communities. In the end, all this will be maintained on biodiversity, but also on the Croatian prices for food themselves.

"Will Croatian prices rise? Many believe that they will. Are the days of cheap food behind us? Well, we can only look at this in the short term, and we can predict for the future to some extent. It's reasonable to expect that floods, or sometimes droughts, will affect the supply and thus the price of food. When we look at the longer term, will the EU Green Plan lead to an increase in prices? This must also be viewed much more broadly. It's a fact that enormous amounts of food are wasted across Europe, and I'm convinced that an economic calculation must be sought precisely in better food management," said Minister Vuckovic. According to European Union statistics, the average household in the EU throws away an astounding 600 euros worth of food per year, while in Croatia it's at the level of 200 to 300 euros.

For more, make sure to check out our news section.

April the 26th, 2023 - Approximately 700,000 Croatian pensioners are set to be paid out more cash as part of a government decision to help them with the rising costs of energy.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the government has not decided on a means test or limit for these payments set to be paid out to a large number of Croatian pensioners, meaning that it will be possible for them receive this state payment while having numerous other incomes in addition to their monthly pension, according to Pension/Mirovina.hr.

The energy supplement will be paid out to around 700,000 Croatian pensioners in amounts ranging from 60 to 160 euros. To be more precise in regard to who can expect the payment, it will received by everyone who has a pension of up to 610 euros per month. That means that the cash will also be paid out to those wealthier retirees who have their own houses, apartments or other forms of income besides their monthly pensions. The estimated funds for this so-called energy payment amount to around 64.3 million euros.

It should be noted that the payment will be made on two different occasions. The first will be paid out this Friday for Croatian pensioners who receive only their pension as their monthly income, while the second date will fall in July 2023, where the government energy payment will be paid out into the accounts of those who have a foreign pension, and those beneficiaries who are currently in the process of exercising their right to access their pension.

The amounts of this assistance are also known, and they vary depending on the amount of the pension in question. As such, those Croatian pensioners with pensions of up to 260 euros per month will receive an energy payment supplement in the amount of 160 euros, while those whose pensions amount from 470.01 to 610 euros will receive 60 euros in government aid.

For more, check out our dedicated news section.

April the 3rd, 2023 - Despite the slowing down of inflation across the country for the fourth consecutive month now, more Croatian price hikes appear to be on the horizon.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after a long time of everything seeming to cost the earth, it has finally been confirmed (at least according to the first estimate of the CBS for March), that inflation is continuing to slow down. That said, the prices of goods and services for personal consumption, measured by the consumer price index, are 10.6% higher on average on an annual basis, and 0.8% higher now than they were back in February.

However, compared to last March, food, drink and tobacco are still the most expensive items - they are 15% more expensive on an annual basis, and although the government and ministers still claim that there is no justification for most of the Croatian price hikes we've been seeing for some time now, some in the trade sector still listed more new prices recently, and these include the manufacturers and suppliers of detergents, cosmetics, pasta, chocolate, and so on.

Some prices have been in effect since March, writes Vecernji list, but some are still waiting for their old stocks to be used up/sold first, as was explained by the leaders of the HGK and HUP merchants' associations, Ivica Katavic and Martin Evacic, as well as the KTC and NTL retail chains.

Katavic claims that foreign companies were the strongest of all in announcing price increases, but there are Croatian companies very much engaging in the same as well. This new wave of Croatian price hikes mostly regards increases of around 8 to 10%, but there are also those of 25 to 30 percent. Evacic added that the rise or fall of prices also depends on the sources of supply of the retailers themselves, contracts, agreements, terms... and the public.

Branko Roglic, the owner of the well known Croatian Orbico Group, otherwise the largest distribution company in the country's immediate region, says that they've raised their prices for their customers only by as much as their suppliers raised them for them.

''We will not increase our margins, but only transfer the prices we receive from our suppliers to our customers. We've been doing this for more than a year and a half, since the prices started to rise. We don't have any special earnings from this, nor do we want such earnings,'' he said.

For more, check out our dedicated news section.

March the 14th, 2023 - Marko Boras Mandic, the President of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County's Assembly, took to social media with a very clear post titled ''Look how robbing us!'' in reference to no less than toilet paper.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Marko Boras Mandic has been delving into the situation of price hikes across Croatia, which have occurred as a result of both inflation and Eurozone accession back at the very beginning of this year, and using one very basic household necessity as an example.

Marko Boras Mandic published photos of two rolls of toilet paper on Facebook, one of these rolls was bought in Italy and the other was purchased right here in Croatia. Both rolls in the photo have been weighed, the Italian one weighs 147 grams, and the Croatian one - only 69 grams. Marko Boras Mandic explained in his status what he considers to be a problem with this.

"On the left is toilet paper bought in Italy, on the right is toilet paper bought in Croatia. Their prices are equal, the Italian one is a little cheaper, but only very slightly. At first glance, they're the same price, about 4 euros for 10 rolls. But... it's not quite like that. The roll of Italian paper is much more compact and weighs 147g, while the Croatian roll weighs only 69g! So the Italian one is more than twice as heavy!

And then when you go to "unpack" the product right to the end, you come across another interesting thing. With the Croatian roll, you have exactly 120 pieces of toilet paper at your disposal, and with the Italian roll, exactly 352 pieces of toilet paper of the exact same dimensions! Let me translate - if you buy toilet paper in Italy, it will last exactly three times longer!! In other words, we're buying the same thing but it's three times more expensive.

I don't know if this post will manage to reach any portal for publication, but it would certainly be good if our regulatory agencies and consumer protection associations deal with this topic. When Croatian stores are having such enormous prices for food and household items, it would be nice if we at least knew exactly what we were getting for our money! And of course, we should know what level of quality it is! And until then, shopping will be being done in the direction of Trieste and Ilirska Bistrica.''

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

February the 17th, 2023 - Croatian food prices have been causing issues for some time now, partly due to inflation and partly due to the introduction of the euro as the country's official currency on the first day of 2023. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and wholesale prices have increased quite significantly indeed.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, when compared to back in January 2022, the prices of bananas, tomatoes, onions, carrots and potatoes rose the most across the country, and over the last two years, the highest price growth was for potatoes and onions. Wholesale prices grew considerably in comparison to January 2021, with potato prices shooting up by 120 percent and onion prices by 77 percent, said Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic.

When it comes to grains and oilseeds, compared to the end of 2022, there's either been price stagnation or a slight decline in the most important grains in wholesale - wheat by nine percent, and corn by 15.5 percent. Compared to the year before (January 2022/January 2023), the prices of wheat are higher by 11.11 percent and corn by 12 percent, while the prices of soybeans are now lower by 4.76 percent.

The wholesale prices of flour in the fifth week of 2023 have been higher compared to what they were back at end of 2022, and for smooth (finely ground) flour by 1.89 percent, and for hard flour by 14.75 percent.

''During January and the beginning of February 2023, the purchase prices of pork and beef did not differ significantly from what they were back at the end of 2022,'' Vuckovic said, adding that ''in the fifth week of this year, the wholesale price of beef was higher by 15.09 percent when compared to one year before, and approximately the same compared to the end of 2022, while the purchase price of pork has been 50.36 percent higher on an annual basis.''

If the wholesale prices in the fifth week of this year are compared with the EU average, it can be said that the wholesale price of beef is lower by 4.31 percent, while that of pork is almost identical. The prices of lamb are slightly higher, while the prices of chicken are decreasing and according to the EU average, they're now lower by 1.15 percent in the fifth week of this year.

The highest growth when it comes to Croatian food prices, as Vuckovic said, has been recorded in the wholesale price of eggs and those prices have been altering continuously since back in March/April 2022 and are currently at record high levels.

In the fifth week of this year, the wholesale price of A-class eggs is lower by 1.05 percent compared to the last week of 2022, and significantly higher compared to the year before, she said, noting that Croatian wholesale egg prices are otherwise higher than the EU average.

For more on Croatian food prices and inflation, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

January the 26th, 2023 - Alright, this title is slightly misleading because we've needed Croatian pension and wage growth for a very long time now, but after becoming a full Eurozone member state, it's high time that we saw the numbers in our bank accounts go up, even just a little bit.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, recently, there have been signs of inflation finally stabilising after a certain drop in electricity and gas prices was duly noted, but despite that, in general prices are still high, and Croatian living standards are falling, which is why Croatian pension and wage increases are now more necessary than ever.

These are just some of the conclusions reached as part of the recently held "Eurostands - Perspectives and challenges" in the City of Zagreb. The head of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions, Kresimir Sever, reiterated that subjective inflation is still being very much felt by most of the country's households and is significantly higher than official statistics. He said because of that, Croatian pension and wage growth is necessary. On the other hand, the chief economist of the Croatian Association of Employers (HUP), Hrvoje Stojic, said that HUP members have seen their employee salaries rase above the national inflation level.

Stojic also noted that the wider Eurozone's economy will experience a certain strong slowdown throughout 2023, during which there will be a "cooling" of aggregate demand, but he added that inflation could be up to two percentage points lower compared to the estimates provided back at the end of 2022.

He believes that due to the unusually mild winter we've all been experiencing, the whole of Europe could avoid dipping into the expected recession in 2023, but also that there is an option to simply "postpone" it to the second half of this year, or even until next year. Professor Marijana Ivanov of the Faculty of Economics warned that inflation reduces the real value of everything we own, and that we need to keep paying attention to the trends.

However, it is positive that there are still no risks of unemployment growth in the Croatian economy, but the general standard of living in slipping.

''Croatian living standards are decreasing, but somehow we're managing despite all of the current challenges," she concluded.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

January the 26th, 2023 - The Croatian State Inspectorate has been busy over the last couple of weeks after many stores and services/goods providers unjustifiably raised their prices following the introduction of the euro as the country's official currency. Their findings have been astonishing, and many fines have been issued.

Poslovni Dnevnik brings us the findings of the Croatian State Inspectorate without any changes, and we've translated it into English:

Following the conclusion of the government on the implementation of the principle of the prohibition of unjustified price increases, the Croatian State Inspectorate is continuing to carry out increased inspections aimed at protecting consumer rights.

From January the 5th, 2023, when the Croatian Government adopted the aforementioned conclusion, until yesterday (January the 25th, 2023), the market and tourism inspection of the Croatian State Inspectorate carried out a total of 1,458 inspections, in which, (more specifically in 305 such inspection so far) unjustified price increases after December the 31st, 2022 were determined. In an additional 211 inspections which have been carried out, the process of the determination of any unjustified price hikes is now being determined.

Excluding inspections in which fact-finding remains an ongoing process, unjustified price increases after December the 31st, 2022 were found in 24.5% of inspections. 70% of the supervised entities where a price increase was determined during the inspection, i.e. immediately before the end of the inspection, returned their retail prices to the amounts they were at back on December the 31st, 2022.

"These figures clearly show us that the inspections being carried out by the Croatian State Inspectorate and the measures adopted by the government in order to protect consumer rights have borne fruit," said Andrija Mikulic, Chief State Inspector, when commenting on the progress and preliminary results of the inspections so far.

Out of the total number of inspections performed (1,458), 382 inspections were performed on service providers, 328 inspections were carried out in retail trade, 108 inspections were carried out across the sector of retail bakery products, and 640 inspections were carried out in the catering and hospitality industry.

According to the preliminary data we have access to at this moment in time, the average price increase for supervised services has shot up to a staggering 30%, while the price increase in retail bakery products is, on average, a less but still wholly unwelcome 15%.

A comparative analysis of the "new", higher prices of certain catering and hospitality services and the "old", lower prices found an increase in the prices of certain catering services of up to 10%, and exceptionally in some inspections which have been concluded over this past week, an increase in the prices of certain catering services up to a disgusting 29%.

Regarding prices in retail trade, an average unjustified increase of up to 17% for certain controlled products after December the 31st, 2022, has been observed. For example, unjustified increases in the prices of milk, chicken meat, and beer, were all determined.

It's important to emphasise that a significant number of inspections carried out in retail trade in retail chains have also been completed. In nineteen retail chains, the market inspection carried out 93 inspections. The inspections were carried out ex officio, as planned inspections and on the basis of peoples' reports.

So far, at four retail chains, an unjustified increase in retail prices for ten products has been determined; cat food (29.18%), 800g cocoa drinks (18.91 %), cured meat product sirloins (20.52%), pickles (9%), dog food (38%), cooking chocolate ( 13%), liquid yogurt (24.47%), butter (19.87%) and biscuits (41.24 %). Please note that fact-finding is still underway in several retail chains.

Fines are being imposed on all business entities that unjustifiably increased their prices after December the 31st, 2022, that is, from January the 1st, 2023 until the day of the inspection. As of January the 25th, 2023, a total of 272 fines were issued as part of the completed inspections, in the total amount of 457,357.96 euros (3,445,963.55 kuna).

Inspections being carried out by the Croatian State Inspectorate are set to continue, with each inspection being part of its jurisdiction. This state body will continue to carry out coordinated and continuous inspections with the aim of consumer protection firmly in mind.

For more, check out our news section.

January the 20th, 2023 - The Croatian State Inspectorate has been on the hunt for those stores and goods and services providers unjustifiably raising their prices and has uncovered some startling price hikes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ever since January the 5th, 2023, when the Croatian Government adopted a conclusion on the implementation of the principle of prohibiting unjustified price increases, the Market and Tourist Inspection of the Croatian State Inspectorate has been carrying out increased inspections aimed at determining whether there has been an increase in the prices of goods and services immediately before the introduction of the euro as the country's new official currency.

Inspections are being carried out on the basis of the Law on the State Inspectorate, the Law on the introduction of the euro as the official currency in the Republic of Croatia, the Law on Consumer Protection and as a result of the aforementioned Conclusion of the government.

Until January the 19th, the Croatian State Inspectorate carried out a total of 1,145 inspections. In 25.2% of the performed inspections, excluding inspections in which the facts are still being determined (163 of them), unjustified price increases which took place December the 31st, 2022 were found.

Out of the total number of inspections, the market inspection of the Croatian State Inspectorate carried out 659 inspections (of which there were 282 inspections of service providers, 280 inspections in retail trade and 97 inspections into retail bakery products).

In the supervision of the market inspection, unfair business practices involving unjustified price increases were found in a concerning 87 cases, of which in 53 cases were discovered in service activities, 19 in the activity of retail trade in bakery products and 15 in other forms of retail trade.

The average unjustified increase in service prices stands at 20%, and in some cases the increase has reached a disgusting 126%. For example, the Croatian State Inspectorate found an increase in photography services of 57%, individual hairdressing services by 126%, private parking services by 25%, self-service car wash services by 50%, and that list goes on and on a bit more.

In the retail trade sector, an unjustified increase of 17% was determined on average for controlled products after December the 31st, 2022, for example - chicken and turkey meat, dried meat products, water, juice, eggs, confectionery, dairy products, animal feed, canned vegetables, all shot up considerably.

Likewise, in the retail trade of bakery products, we've been continuing to record an increase in the prices of both bread and other bakery products of up to 15% on average, and exceptionally, for some inspections, an increase of 20 to 30% was found for individual bakery products. Tourism inspectors carried out 486 inspections, of which in 161 inspections (33.1%) they came across an unjustified increase in the prices of catering and hospitality services.

In 72.6% of the completed inspections in which unjustified price increases were found, business entities returned their retail prices to the levels they were at back on December the 31st, 2022 immediately.

Due to the violation of unfair business practices from 149 of the Act on Consumer Protection, fines are being imposed on all business entities that unjustifiably increased their prices after December the 31st, 2022, that is, from January the 1st, 2023 until the day of the completed inspection.

In the completed inspections, 234 fines in the amount of 399,489.09 euros (3,009,950.55 kuna) were issued with their accompanying misdemeanor orders against business entities. Croatian State Inspectorate inspections will continue in the name of consumer protection with each inspection being part of its own respective jurisdiction.

For more, make sure to check out our news section.

January the 18th, 2023 - Despite all of the panic and in many cases confusion surrounding Croatian euro introduction, ongoing inflation and price hikes, prices for an array of products actually fell back in December last year.

As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, quite on the contrary to public perception and the current clamor and naming and shaming of the culprits for price increases in the context of Croatian euro introduction, December 2022 ended with a monthly drop in consumer prices.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of the 2022, prices were on average 0.3% lower compared to what they were in November, which brought the annual inflation rate down from 13.5% in November to 13.1% at the end of December. Looking at the annual average, consumer prices last year were 10.8% higher than they were just one year before.

Last month's decline is, admittedly, primarily the result of lower transportation costs, i.e. the price reduction of petroleum products during December. In addition, seasonal reductions in clothing and footwear, as well as somewhat lower housing and utility costs (in the part influenced by fuel prices) also contributed to the monthly decline to a slightly lesser extent.

In short, as the transportation category accounts for about 15 percent of expenses within the consumer basket, their drop by 4% "overpowered" the price increases in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group. The share of this group in the expenses of the average household budget is significantly higher (26%), but the prices of food and beverages on a monthly level, according to the CBS, increased by a significantly smaller 1.2%. That's what the average more or less looks like, but some food products went up in terms of cost significantly more in December.

For example, when compared to November, the price of butter in Croatia rose by as much as 11% (22.8% on an annual basis), eggs by 9.2% (compared to December the year before, they were 64.5% more expensive), and more than the average monthly increase in food prices also increased the prices of bread, pork, fish, milk and dairy products, fish, olive oil, and so on.

Overall, the annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at 19% at the end of the year. If only food is considered here, then annual growth has only been slightly moderated, from 19.7 to a barelt different 19.6%.

However, in addition to the aforementioned prices of eggs and butter, a number of foodstuffs on an annual level record price increases of more than 20 percent; from bread, cheese and sugar, which at the end of 2022 compared to the end of 2021, increased in price by more than 30% (bread by almost 33%, cheeses by 34%), to, for example, frozen vegetables which carried almost 45% higher prices on average.

Although last month's prices of oil derivatives indicated that it would be a significant inflation shock absorber, some analysts will say that they still expected inflation to remain at around 13.5% at the end of December.

For the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), the latest data from the CBS isn't remotely unexpected. They also pointed out that the annual rate could culminate in January, after which it should fall once again over the coming months. The rise in service prices basically reflects the incomplete recovery of aggregate demand after the coronavirus pandemic finally subsided, as well as the labour shortage and the delayed adjustment to last year's input price increases - these are just some of the main points of the comments of HUP and their chief economist Hrvoje Stojic.

In addition to all of the above, they are reminiscent of signals related to core inflation. If volatile food and energy prices are excluded from all of this, the basic measure of inflation simultaneously shows its annual growth at 9.7%, from 8.9% back in November.

"This indicates that inflation will remain at high single-digit levels for the foreseeable future," they stated from HUP. In terms of the twelve-month average, after last year's 10.8 percent, according to their forecasts, this would mean a drop to the still relatively high 7.5 percent inflation this year. The expectation of lower monthly inflation dynamics is explained by the expected decline in aggregate demand, i.e. the technical recession over the first half of the year, as well as the stabilisation of energy prices, the normalisation of supply chains and a certain decline in the prices of food raw materials.

Energy prices, which are currently in decline thanks to an extremely mild winter across all of Europe, are still being calculated with a relatively high uncertainty factor.

"Despite government subsidies, electricity prices are still about four times higher than pre-2021 levels, which is symptomatic of a long-term energy crisis. This summer, a new race between EU member states to fill gas storage will begin, so the European Commission (EU) needs to provide new mechanisms for stabilising those energy prices,'' they pointed out from HUP. If the proposed price limit had been in effect last summer, the EU probably wouldn't have provided sufficient quantities of gas even to those who were perfectly able pay at the prices above the typical price limit.

The simultaneous fall in inflation across the Eurozone during the first half of the year could encourage speculation about the end of the cycle of growth of the ECB's reference interest rates. However, HUP is remaining strong in its belief that core inflation across the Eurozone, as well as right here in Croatia, will remain well above the ECB's inflation target of around 2% in the foreseeable future.

"Furthermore, fiscal expansion continues and wage growth accelerates, which may also affect price expectations. For this reason, a further increase in the deposit rate to 3.25-3.50 percent by the summer of 2023 is to be expected in the ongoing and seemingly tireless fight against inflation. The rise in interest rates along with the simultaneous planned reduction of the ECB's balance sheet at a rate of 15 billion euros per month from March onwards will also contribute to the deterioration of financing conditions in a situation where financing needs are growing strongly in many Eurozone countries, including in this country, where Croatian euro banknotes and coins are now the new currency.

If we stick to the latest figures from the CBS on inflation across the country in the month preceding Croatian euro introduction and the confusion surrounding conversion and ongoing inflation, it remains to be noted that in 2022, in addition to food and non-alcoholic beverages, above-average price growth was also recorded in the categories of restaurants and hotels (17.1%), furniture and household equipment (16.1%) and housing and related utilities (16%).

Due to the market movement of oil prices, and due to the Croatian Government's various economic measures, the transportation sector ended in 2022 with an annual growth of only 8.4 percent. If only fuels are considered within that category, where annual inflation stood at a whopping 21.5 percent in January last year, 2022 ended with a price increase of only 6.7 percent.

For more on Croatian euro introduction and inflation, make sure to check out our news section.

January 11, 2023 - Since the euro was introduced as the official currency in Croatia, there has been a series of price comparisons of products in Croatia and other countries, especially Slovenia. Lidl Croatia explained to Večernji why the prices are different. They point out that the formation of prices in a country is influenced by numerous factors, from the amount of the VAT rate, excise duties, and product analysis costs to logistics costs and the like.

Index compared Lidl prices in Slovenia and Croatia in detail.

"In the case of comparing prices in Slovenian and Croatian Lidl, the VAT rate on food in Slovenia is 9.5 percent, while in Croatia, the rate is 5 percent for some products (bread, fresh meat, and fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, edible fats and oils, baby food, pads, and tampons, which make up about 10% of our total assortment), and the rest is 25 percent," they state, as reported on Index.

"Regarding the comparative account from both Lidls, which was published in several Croatian media, 8 out of 10 products from the said account from the Slovenian Lidl have a tax rate of 9.5 percent, and in Croatia, 25 percent. This is a difference of 15.5 percentage points. Furthermore, Croatia pays a return fee on PET packaging of 0.07 euros, which is reflected on products such as mineral water and juices," states Lidl.

Fuel price

They further note that gasoline and diesel are cheaper in Slovenia, which makes a difference in the logistics costs for the delivery of goods. At the same time, they note that Croatia is geographically significantly larger than Slovenia. "It is demanding in terms of transportation due to the specific geographical shape, and the logistics also include islands, which is an additional challenge," they state in the press release.

"Some of the factors that led to global disturbances are the prices of raw materials, the availability of goods, the rise in logistics prices, the rise in electricity and gas prices and general costs such as maintenance, the impact of the war in Ukraine and, consequently, high inflation. The retail prices of certain products rose in line with the growth of purchase prices and other factors that influenced movements in global markets, " they state.

"We would like to emphasize here that we did not blindly transfer the increase in the input prices of our suppliers to our customers but corrected the prices with extreme care and concern, precisely so that we would not allow our customers to feel the full weight of the inflationary pressure that appeared," it is further stated in Lidl Croatia's explanation.

They also claim that Lidl Croatia did not increase prices during the switch to the euro.

"Prices of products from Lidl's regular range have been converted from kuna to euros according to the rules of mathematical rounding (without unjustified price increases) in favor of the customer. Also, to confirm a transparent relationship with customers, Lidl has joined the Code of Ethics, which determines how business entities act for a reliable and transparent introduction of the euro to create trust and a safe environment for consumers. Within the scope of the inspections so far, no unjustified price increases have been found in Lidl Croatia," they said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.