Croatia's tomato production was cut by a quarter in 2018, and as a result of the shrinking production, the tomato exports also fell by 30%, whereas the imports increased by 5%, according to a statement released by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Sunday.

In 2018, the tomato production fell by 25% to 30,950 tonnes as against 41,223 tonnes in 2017.

Croatia’s tomato exports shrank by 30% to 5,287 tonnes, whereas the imports went up 5% to 13,369 tonnes.

On average, the kilo of imported tomato cost €0.99, whereas the kilo of exported tomato brought €0.94 to Croatia, the HGK says.

The tomato imports from Italy and the Netherlands make up three fifths (60%) of the total imports of this product in Croatia and also over a tonne of tomatoes is imported from Spain, Germany and Poland each, whereas the first two markets for exported Croatian tomatoes are Slovenia and Germany.