Unions say a family Christmas basket has never been more expensive

According to unions a Christmas basket for a family of three is more expensive than ever this year, with a high end traditional basket coming in at €626. Based on the union’s calculations the average basket will cost €250, while the modest or low-end basket will cost citizens €140.

The prices, as calculated by unions, represents an increase of almost 16% when compared to last year’s Christmas basket. According to unions this indicates a dramatic rise in food prices in Croatia on an annual basis. The economic Advisor to the Independent Croatian Trade Unions, Izabela Delfa Mišić: "Due to uncertainty and the risk of inflation, a large number of citizens are forced to put-off buying Christmas gifts because a large part of their disposable income is spent on food. A society in which the majority of household income goes to food costs cannot speak of real progress or real growth, but rather of poverty among our citizens disguised as growth."

Asked to comment on the union’s calculations and the spiraling increase in the cost of a Christmas basket for Croatian households while visiting Sisak-Moslavina County on Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that government is doing its best to help the most vulnerable citizens: "We know that some people are living in difficult circumstances. However, we have undertaken a large number of steps to help them. We still have a cap on one hundred items precisely so that those with the lowest incomes can afford to buy their daily staples."

Source: HRT