Croatia: Agriculture along the Adriatic Sea

Croatia is a small country bordering the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe. Located in the diverse region of the Balkans, Croatia has a total territory of less than 57.000 square kilometers, which is somewhat smaller than West Virginia. Geographically, Croatia has an important Mediterranean coastline accompanied by chains of islands as well as plains and small mountains throughout its inland territory. Croatia has a total population of little over 4 million citizens, 60% of which live in a major city or urban setting. Currently, Croatia’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is of approximately US$90 billion. Similarly, its national economy has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 1.5% since 2015. Croatia’s national economy is divided into 4% agriculture, 27% manufacturing, and 69% services. However, the agriculture industry utilizes about 24% of the national territory, while another 35% is forested. Likewise, Croatia’s agricultural industry employs some 2% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 28% and services employ another 70%.

In terms of natural resources, Croatia has oil, coal, iron ore, calcium, gypsum, asphalt, silica, clays, salt, and hydropower. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on chemicals, plastics, machinery, metals, electronics, iron & steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum, and food & beverages. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products wheat, corn, barley, sugar beet, sunflower, potatoes, cabbage, onion, tomato, pepper, fruits, grapes & wine, livestock, and dairy products. Likewise, a large sector of Croatia’s economy is dependent upon the tourism industry. In terms of trade, Croatia’s main partners are fellow European Union members, particularly Italy, Germany, Slovenia, and Austria. A member of the EU since 2013, Croatia benefits from subsidies and industry protections under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, Croatia does not yet utilize the Euro as its official currency. This article explores the status of land use and cereal markets in Croatia.

Croatia: Agriculture along the Adriatic Sea

Throughout recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Croatian population has been of approximately 46 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers supply about 32% of the average food energy intake in Croatia. Simultaneously, land use in Croatia has evolved throughout the last several decades, particularly because the country used to be a part of Yugoslavia and underwent a separation during the 1990s. In 1992, permanent pastures and meadows in Croatia covered approximately 1 million hectares, while arable land covered another 1.2 million hectares and permanent crops accounted for some 113.000 hectares. In 2014, permanent pastures and meadows in Croatia accounted for 618.000 hectares, while arable land represented about 813.000 hectares and permanent crops covered another 78.000 hectares.

Similarly, the domestic cereals market in Croatia has transformed substantially throughout the last several decades. In 1992, Croatia devoted some 593.000 hectares of land to the production of cereals and produced close to 2.4 million metric tons annually. Meanwhile, in 2014, Croatia devoted 496.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded almost 3 million metric tons.

(Read more about Bulgaria’s Forests and the European Timber Industry)