Large, serious meat producers are withdrawing from production, we have almost no domestic calves for fattening, the number of producers is decreasing across Europe as fewer people want to engage in livestock farming, the price of animal feed has increased by almost 300 percent, and given that Croatia does not have sufficient production of any category of meat, the future of livestock farming is uncertain, stated Mladen Kušeković, owner of Natura Beef and member of the Baby Beef association, at today’s expert discussion on the future of meat production, availability, and prices in Croatia, organized by the PR agency for agriculture and agribusiness Kombinat 1969.
In the last ten years since Croatia became a member of the European Union, the value of imports of live cattle and products from the accompanying industry has risen from 440.3 million euros in 2012 to 1.23 billion euros in 2022. At the same time, the value of the import-export balance has almost tripled – from -268 million euros it has risen to nearly -700 million euros.
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—In recent years, we have been living off stocks of cheap meat from the European market. As far as we know, certain categories have been depleted, and the situation there is no longer great. Quality meat in neighboring countries is more expensive than here. Meat from those countries is cheaper on our market, as market surpluses were sold. In such situations, there is a need for state intervention through commodity reserves or any other mechanisms to maintain the situation to some extent. It is difficult to predict what will happen to prices – said Kušeković, noting that it is no longer a question of how much the price of meat will be, but whether there will be meat at all.
Meat producers have been pointing out these problems to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Croatian Agricultural Chamber for years, and Kušeković emphasizes that they all need to solve them together.
Price Collapse
Milivoj Dragošević, owner and director of Purex, emphasized that they operate stably despite all the problems in livestock farming, as well as last year’s challenges such as the spike in grain prices, the increase in the prices of other additives for animal feed, and energy, and the drop in meat prices.
– The price of meat has rapidly fallen because meat production in the EU has decreased, and European producers have discounted those surpluses, imported them to Croatia, and lowered the selling price of meat and meat products. It was very difficult to survive financially, but in the last year, prices have balanced out, and we have raised our prices – said Dragošević.
He explains that their production of chicken and turkey meat is integrated – from animal feed production, farms, maintenance systems, slaughterhouses, processing, and distribution, they also have their stores in the areas of Split and Zagreb where they sell 95 percent of their products.
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—Since we operate at a higher standard, our production price is higher than that of large producers. Given that standard industrial goods that come from imports at extremely low prices are 30-40, even 50 percent cheaper than their production price, because they are discounted and entered as surpluses, here they have reduced the price by 50 percent from such types of production, and from my type of production even by 70 percent. And when such goods enter the market, it is normal for customers to rush towards what is cheaper, regardless of quality – Dragošević explained the problems they face.
Dragošević therefore calls for better organization of the entire agricultural system in terms of regulation, so that domestic goods gain value.
– The most effective way to protect domestic producers and production would be to control more by inspection services what enters, in terms of health safety, quality, and accompanying documentation, and to ensure that domestic goods still have some value to be sold at normal prices – concluded Dragošević.
Citizens Will Feel the Shortage
That the trends in meat production in Croatia, including pork, are negative, and that the situation is alarming is also confirmed by Krešimir Kuterovac, president of the Croatian Association of Pig Producers and founder and director of Agroporc. Kuterovac states that pig farmers are most bothered by the unregulated market, non-existent contractual obligations, disconnection from the meat industry, investments that are not happening and are not realized in pig farming, so there is no restructuring of the sector, while old and small producers are leaving production, and there are no new and large ones.
The number of sows, as Kuterovac noted, fell by eight percent last year, and piglets by more than 30 percent, which is one of the largest declines in the last five years. Croatian citizens consume the most pork, he added, with estimates around 40 kilograms per year, while self-sufficiency in pork production in Croatia is 55 percent.
– Europe has for the first time in several decades turned the trend and reduced meat production due to ecology. This trend occurring in Europe will continue. Thus, Europe is reducing production, while Croatia does not have enough of its own production. We can only wait for the moment when Croatian citizens will feel the shortage of meat – said Kuterovac, reiterating that it will not be a question of price, but of the shortage of pork on the market.
One of the problems is that most of the support in the new strategic plan is tied to hectares, which pig farmers and livestock breeders do not have. Kuterovac also notes that the quality of imported pork at lower prices is questionable.
– That price simply reduces the price in the market, and when you cannot generate income in the market, you simply reduce production and there is no further development. According to the new law, we are skeptical. Due to such an attitude, livestock farming will continue to collapse – warned Kuterovac.
Decision at the State Level
We can talk about problems for days, said Dragošević, proposing as a concrete solution the production at a higher standard. As he explained, Croatia has the opportunity to produce and brand meat of different, tangible, better value compared to that which comes from imports at lower prices.
– To be able to do that, a decision needs to be made at the state level to go in that direction. These can be higher standards in many segments, for example, that it is produced without harmful ingredients, that the meat has better organoleptic quality, that the products are fresher, that we have trust in producers. The state can and must do this, by introducing a quality certification system at the Ministry of Agriculture level, a relevant service that can define different levels of quality. This stimulates part of the production, and the state can promote and brand it through tourism and public consumption, thus protecting part of the small producers – explained Dragošević.
There are no urgent measures, but measures must be systematic and meaningful for production, concluded Kuterovac.
