Minister Vučković reassures: The rise in food prices should stabilize by the end of the year

The rise in prices should stabilize by the end of the year, primarily driven by the increase in fuel prices, stated Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković on Wednesday.

Regarding the announced food price increases from autumn, Vučković said before the narrower cabinet of the Government that the rise in prices in the EU and the world is primarily driven by the increase in gas and fuel prices, which is also present in Croatia.

She assesses that the level of inflation in Croatia this year is still not alarming, considering that external factors are largely responsible for the rise in prices, while increased demand in terms of personal consumption growth also affects price increases, as evidenced by data on fiscalized invoices, which show that consumption in the first seven months of this year increased by about 27 percent compared to the same period last year.

Vučković emphasized that prices of certain categories of food are rising very quickly and significantly, but the overall rise in food prices in the first seven months of 2021 was two percent, the minister noted.

Considering that food is above average represented in the consumer basket, all disturbances around it should be concerning and attempts should be made to respond to them, Vučković stated, while emphasizing that according to experts’ predictions, those prices should stabilize by the end of the year.

She highlighted the problem of rising prices of animal feed, which negatively affects the Croatian livestock sector, which has managed to receive assistance, and the Government is considering further assistance options through certain types of support.

What should help this sector in the long term and structurally are amendments to the agricultural land law, Vučković stated.

She also asserted that strategic steps are being taken to increase Croatia’s self-sufficiency in agricultural production, an example of which is the call for financing reproduction centers, with an allocation of “heavy” 250 million kuna, and there is also a call for the robotization of small dairy companies.