Coca-Cola's contribution to the Croatian economy in 2021 was 2.2 billion kuna (€292 million), the state news platform Hina reported on Monday, citing figures released by the local distributor Coca-Cola HBC Croatia, which quoted a study on the 'socioeconomic impact of Coca-Cola in Croatia,' presented at a business forum.

“Through the production and distribution of its products, Coca-Cola contributes directly and indirectly to taxes, wages, and profits amounting to a total of 2.19 billion kuna, which is 0.5 percent of Croatia’s GDP,” CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, Ruza Tomic-Fontana, said commenting on the study prepared by the Steward Redqueen consulting company.

She added that Coca-Cola in Croatia supports 7,050 jobs in its value chain, which is 0.4 percent of the total number of jobs in Croatia. The study showed that Coca-Cola employs almost a quarter of the workers in the local soft drinks industry, and each job supports an additional 14 jobs in the Croatian economy.

According to the study, in 2021 Coca Cola cooperated with 32,164 customers and 686 suppliers in Croatia and accounted for 0.8 percent of the total amount of tax revenues collected by Croatian authorities.

In 2012, Coca-Cola introduced the practice of regularly releasing socioeconomic studies prepared according to an internationally recognized methodology that enables monitoring of progress and comparison. Attending the presentation Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Davor Butkovic, said that “achieving excellence is demanding in normal times and even more so in times of crisis.”

(€1 = 7.54 kuna)