Since 2020, the price of milk in Croatia has risen by as much as 41 per cent, according to the latest data from Eurostat. The highest increase in milk prices was recorded in Romania and Hungary, where milk became 58 per cent more expensive in the same period.

In contrast, the smallest increase was recorded in Cyprus, where prices rose by 17 per cent.

The domestic dairy industry has been in crisis for years. There are fewer and fewer cows, sheep and goats in Croatia, and milk production is in sharp decline.

Abandoned farms, every fourth dairy farmer has stopped supplying milk

Cow’s milk production has halved in the last ten years and one in four dairy farmers has stopped supplying milk. Croatia produces only 40 per cent of its own needs, so it imports milk and pays high prices.

Many farms are deserted. Before joining the European Union, 12,500 farmers supplied milk, now there are fewer than 3,000, and production has fallen from 780 to 380 million kilogrammes of cow’s milk.

In February, the government adopted a recovery programme for the dairy industry worth 600 million euros. Thanks to the measures, the amount of milk collected rose by 0.01 in the first nine months.

If nothing changes soon, Croatia will lose even the low production it currently has. Croatia already imports 60% of its cow’s milk requirements, and cattle rarely return to the barns that have been abandoned.