Damage inflicted by natural disasters this year on Croatia's farming sector exceeds 600 million kuna (€80 million), with farming associations warning that this could lead to increase in prices, state agency Hina reported, citing a press release by the national chamber of agriculture HPK.

HPK’s projections were made public after a meeting of Copa-Cogeca, an umbrella association of farmers in the European Union, had held with the European Commission’s officials on the extent of damage caused by natural disasters across the bloc, especially in the production of fruits and vegetables this year.

The damage discussed was inflicted by a variety of natural disasters, including frost, hailstorms, and recent ravaging floods. In Croatia, two devastating quakes that hit Croatia in March and December 2020 also hurt the farming sector.

“Climate change is obviously increasingly affecting our sector, and it’s making producers of fruits and vegetables in the EU increasingly concerned. They expect the European Commission to speed up its mechanisms and tools for the allocation and disbursement of aid for this type of farming which is increasingly exposed to climate change,” Branimir Markota of the HPK said in a press release carried by Hina.

They added that since the beginning of this year, the financial effect of the natural disasters’ adverse impact on the agricultural sector has reached 600 million kuna (€80 million).