Why Croatia struggles to feed itself?

In the past decade, Croatia’s food imports have surged to nearly €6.5 billion, raising serious concerns about the country’s food security and agricultural sustainability.

As HRT reports, at a recent food conference in Zagreb, experts discussed the key question: Why aren’t we eating more Croatian-produced food?

Croatia’s food self-sufficiency is worryingly low. “If the borders were to close, we would run out of food within a week,” one speaker noted. Domestic food production is insufficient, and the reliance on imports continues to grow each year.

While retailers are often blamed for the high level of imports, many Croatian producers also import finished goods or raw materials, labelling them under local brands.

Martin Evačić, president of the Croatian Employers’ Association’s Trade Association, stressed that retailers do try to source locally, but “there simply isn’t enough domestic fruit, vegetables, pork, or beef to meet demand.”

Milk is another major concern. Mladen Jakopović of the Croatian Agricultural Chamber said, “We’re at a record low. We only produce about 40–45% of our needs, particularly with long-life milk, and we lack the capacity for large-scale processing.”

Jakopović also highlighted in an earlier interview that Croatia’s declining food production stems from unresolved land ownership issues, including outdated inheritance laws and small, unviable private plots, alongside the disadvantaged position of local producers and processors in the market.

He also emphasised that imported agricultural products, particularly meat, often come from countries tied to major retail chains and may be of lower quality compared to fresher, domestically produced goods.

Croatia does produce enough grains and oilseeds—like corn, wheat, and soy—for export. However, it still imports flour and finished bakery goods.

The Ministry of Agriculture plans to invest in processing capacities to reduce dependency.

Aleksandar Mešić, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, argues that Croatian farming is outdated: “We need to change direction. Without more knowledge and innovation, we can’t compete with countries like Germany or the Netherlands.”

Croatia has potential, but real reform is needed—or food imports will continue to fill the gap.