August the 24th, 2026 – Zadar was the most expensive Croatian city of all in July, with strong economic growth very much being a double edged sword for the area.
Buying basic groceries has long been a negotiation with one’s own wallet for people in Croatia, but in July, the toughest conditions spilled over onto the area of Zadar County. The basic consumer basket for a four-member family here reached a record 498 euros, reports HRT. Morski writes that a basic daily trip to the shop or the market has become a source of stress for many, and citizens openly complain about the constant quiet price rises:
a previously bustling market sits almost empty
“Vegetables have become very expensive, they get used up quickly, you need a lot of them. Fruit is also very expensive and it seems to me that meat has gone up, fish has also gone up a lot,” says Zadar resident Katja. For pensioners, the situation is even more alarming. Every single purchase requires calculation and a search for discounts: “I really don’t go to the shops much. You buy where you can according to your wallet and that’s it, and yes it’s expensive, it’s definitely expensive, this isn’t for us pensioners, it’s abnormal,” is the honest assessment of Zorica, who lives on the Zagreb–Zadar route.
That consumer habits are changing and that people are buying significantly less than in previous years was confirmed to us by the sellers themselves. Zadar’s market, which in July should be bustling with local and foreign visitors, at times looks unusually empty.
Seller Rada briefly summarises the problem: “Everything is expensive, the shops too.” Her colleague Ilonka points out that even regular customers have thinned out their visits: “There are no customers. I normally have my own customers, but look, two people are walking through the market.”
the price of rapid expansion
How did it come about that Zadar took the top spot for the most expensive groceries? Experts explain that the answer lies in a specific economic effect of the rapid expansion of the regional economy.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jurica Bosna, Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Zadar, clarifies the background to this trend: “Nobody wants to have the most expensive basket of goods, but it still shows that the county is developing strongly, and this is an effect known in economics, when we grow faster than we perhaps should according to some optimal economic rates, then it’s unfortunately inevitable that inflation will develop and that the result will be like this,” he stated.
While macroeconomic indicators record the growth and development of the whole of Zadar County, for the general public, that statistic brings no comfort whatsoever. The vicious circle in which the economy advances strongly while prices rise in an unbridled way leaves the deepest mark on household budgets. Since wages and pensions do not come close to keeping pace, the consumer baskets of Zadar residents remain ever emptier.
