The European Commission has approved an additional 220 million kuna (€29.3 million) in aid to Croatian livestock farmers, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

130 million kuna (€17.3 million) has been approved under the Animal Welfare Measure of the EU Rural Development Programme, while 90 million (€12 million) has been approved for the use of manure on fields.

The Ministry noted that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic it had adopted a number of aid schemes, worth nearly 450 million kuna (€60 million) in total, including those for the livestock sector, adding that aid schemes for the poultry and dairy farming sectors were under preparation.

Due to an increase in prices of cereals and other components of livestock feed, at the last meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic called on the European Commission to look into possibilities of granting financial aid to stabilise the livestock sector, as well as other possible mechanisms to ensure the equal treatment of Croatian producers on the global market.

The request was supported by 15 member states, and the Commission is expected to continue monitoring the situation and take any emergency measures as may be necessary, the statement said.