The Pig Farming Sector in Croatia Faces Problems Since Joining the EU

The pig farming sector has been struggling since Croatia joined the European Union, as evidenced by the number of pigs, which stands at 900 thousand, along with a concerningly low number of sows, indicating a rapid downward trend, it was stated on Thursday in Osijek at a round table titled ‘Does Croatian Pig Farming Have a Future?’

The gathering was held as part of the workshop ‘Transformation in Agriculture Under Conditions of Accelerated Climate Change: Bilateral Cooperation in Education and Research Between Norway and Croatia’, at the Faculty of Agro-Bio-Tech Sciences Osijek (FAZOS), whose dean, Krunoslav Zmaić, warned that last year a production decline of 5.3 percent was recorded.

– A similar trend is observed in the EU, with major producers like Denmark and Spain reducing pork production, which means that we consumers will have to pay the price – claims Zmaić, adding that prices are already 25 percent higher and are expected to rise another 15 to 20 percent.

He believes the situation is even worse with piglets, and the emergence of African Swine Fever (ASF) has further complicated matters. ‘Small farms can hardly ensure biosecurity measures,’ concluded Zmaić, stating that the pig farming sector is in serious trouble.

One way to quickly revitalize pig farming in Croatia is through the Agricultural Land Act, believes the president of the Croatian Association of Pig Producers, Krešimir Kuterovac, who announced that a concrete proposal for the rapid renewal of pig farming in Croatia is being prepared in collaboration with the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture and the Central Association of Pig Breeders.

– We will send this proposal to the Croatian Parliament, and we plan to have a discussion with the Minister of Agriculture in the next week or two – announced Kuterovac, noting that pig producers must have a perspective, and one way is certainly through the Agricultural Land Act.

According to him, pig producers must obtain land, the issue of investments must be resolved effectively, and order must be established in the market so that consumers know what meat they are eating. – We must not receive low-quality meat from imports; there must be pork in stock to ensure food security for citizens, and it must be domestically produced – he concluded, adding that pig farming can recover, but the question is whether politics wants that.

Associate Professor at FAZOS, Vladimir Margeta, believes it is in the national interest for pig farming to recover, as pork is the most consumed meat in Croatia. Agriculture without pig farming would not make sense, Margeta is convinced, emphasizing that it is essential to build a strategy that will have a clear goal encompassing not only the increase of the pig population but also the network of slaughterhouses, the processing industry, and production that will focus on quality, not just quantity.

– To restore pig farming in Croatia, we must, in accordance with the Green Plan, convert pigs into high-value-added products – Margeta emphasizes, considering this the only way to ensure marketability for producers, which is a condition for their survival.