DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-996-9-0375

THE LIVESTOCK FUND OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA 10 YEARS AFTER JOINING THE EU

Ivan Vnučec¹, Darija Bendelja Ljoljić¹, Iva Dolenčić Špehar¹, Nataša Hulak¹, Ivica Kos¹

¹ University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

The long and arduous road that the Republic of Croatia has travelled in adapting its legislation to the European acquis has had a negative impact on livestock farming, especially milk production. Despite that, the livestock population, dominated by three species in Croatia (cattle being most economically important, followed by pigs and sheep), has decreased significantly over the last ten years. According to the data on the number of cattle, pigs and sheep recorded in the Unified Livestock Register, the total number of cattle in 2022 (470,000) is about 5 % lower than in 2013 (443,000), but the number of dairy cows in 2022 (72,000) is almost 30 % lower than in 2013 (102,000). Similarly, the total number of pigs fell from a total of 1.1 million to 945,000 and the number of sows from 106,000 to 70,000. The sheep and goat sector is relatively stable given the size of the population. Unfortunately, Croatia is following Europe in the negative trends in animal husbandry. Although the main reason for the reduction of livestock in Europe is the desire for a more sustainable, greener agriculture, this is not the case in Croatia. Numerous market difficulties and low prices, de-ruralisation and de-agrarianisation as well as poor agricultural policies have led people to abandon livestock farming, which has led and continues to lead to a decline in livestock numbers.

Keywords: livestock farming, EU membership, cattle, pigs, sheep

pages: 375-379, online: 2024