First estimates of the average prices of farming produce in 2022 compiled by Eurostat indicate that they went up, on average 24 percent, in almost all the main categories, in the European Union. At the same time, in Croatia the prices of cereals increased above the EU average.

“Eurostat data indicates that the average price of agricultural goods in the EU increased by 24 percent between 2021 and 2022. The sharpest increases were for cereals (45 percent), eggs (43 percent) and milk (31 percent). Indeed, there were price increases in all groups of products, with the exception of fruits (which dropped by 3 percent),” the state news platform Hina said, citing Eurostat’s website.

Overall, Croatia saw a 19.4 percent increase in prices in 2022, which was below the EU average. In 2021, Croatia had experienced a 12.6 percent increase. One of the main drivers of higher prices was the disruption to global farming markets caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Eurostat said, adding that Russia and Ukraine had been major exporters of grains, wheat, maize, oilseeds (particularly sunflower), and fertilizers.

The second largest contributor to rising prices was the widespread drought, which is expected to have reduced yields on crops, including fodder crops like hay used as feed for livestock – and the third major factor were “other inflationary pressures.”

In cereals, the highest increase of 70 percent was registered in Finland, followed by Hungary with a 67 percent increase. In Croatia, the price of cereals increased by 52 percent in 2022. The lowest increase was in Austria, the Netherlands, and Latvia, by 33 percent.

The price of eggs skyrocketed the most in France (76 percent) and Belgium (74 percent), while in Cyprus and Greece it went up by only 7 percent in 2022. In Croatia, the price of eggs went up 43 percent.

Drought affected the supply of fodder for cows, and as a result prices of milk also increased across the board, from 50 percent in Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Belgium to 9 percent in Malta and 3 percent in Cyprus. In Croatia, the price of milk jumped 20 percent in 2022.