KAZALCI OKOLJA

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Slovenia is a net importer of food, as domestic production does not satisfy the total needs (especially for cereals, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, pig meat, and honey). The long-term trend indicates that the self-sufficiency rate is higher and more stable for most animal products (milk, eggs, beef and poultry meat), with the exception of pig meat and honey, where the self-sufficiency rate is noticeably decreasing. In the analysed period, surpluses occurred only in the domestic production of milk, beef, poultry meat, in some years in eggs and honey, and in recent years in the production of grain maize. Meanwhile, the self-sufficiency in crops is generally lower (potatoes, vegetables, fruit) and varies from year to year (influence of harvests). In the long term, only the self-sufficiency rate for cereals is increasing, including barley, rye and grain maize, while the self-sufficiency rate for wheat shows a slightly downward trend.


The self-sufficiency rate is defined as the extent to which a country’s domestic production is able to meet the total domestic demand (including food, feed, and industrial consumption). A self-sufficiency rate of less than 100% means a deficit that must be covered by imports, and a self-sufficiency rate of more than 100% means a surplus in domestic supply.

The indicator shows the level of self-sufficiency for the following agricultural products in Slovenia: meat, by main types and total, eggs, potatoes, cereals, by main types and total, vegetables, fruit, milk, and honey. Self-sufficiency rates are shown only at the level of individual agricultural products, but not at the aggregated food level. Per capita consumption of agricultural products and a comparison of self-sufficiency rates for cereals between Slovenia and some countries are also presented.


Charts

Figure KM29-1: Self-sufficiency rate of agricultural products in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Meat, total[%]

Eggs[%]

Cereals[%]

Potatoes[%]

Vegetables[%]

Fruit[%]

Milk, total[%]

Honey[%]

2000

92

95

48

83

47

66

113

112

2001

100

98

46

79

39

55

117

105

2002

97

97

63

85

42

59

115

105

2003

97

104

38

64

37

56

116

97

2004

92

103

63

86

43

58

114

102

2005

88

94

60

74

45

49

113

75

2006

88

97

50

60

39

52

120

81

2007

93

95

54

70

34

49

120

78

2008

91

95

64

57

36

38

115

81

2009

83

93

57

63

37

38

114

85

2010

84

93

57

63

30

47

116

74

2011

85

96

71

63

37

46

120

85

2012

83

92

70

55

34

37

117

51

2013

82

91

55

46

33

43

118

82

2014

80

90

77

67

38

42

120

20

2015

74

93

72

59

40

47

125

71

2016

76

95

74

55

42

32

132

59

2017

81

90

63

50

38

15

134

45

2018

81

96

69

48

41

47

129

79

2019

81

95

75

47

43

30

127

44

2020

84

95

88

60

48

36

133

67

2021*

85

97

85

44

44

14

136

15

Figure KM29-2: Self-sufficiency rate of cereals in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Wheat[%]

Barley[%]

Rye[%]

Maize[%]

2000

63

30

7

48

2001

58

33

18

45

2002

63

34

17

75

2003

47

24

21

38

2004

54

45

42

77

2005

48

51

36

72

2006

44

45

17

57

2007

47

53

22

58

2008

55

57

19

72

2009

48

53

22

63

2010

49

54

31

61

2011

55

68

43

82

2012

65

81

50

72

2013

47

62

75

58

2014

59

72

73

91

2015

52

73

61

87

2016

52

74

47

92

2017

46

74

61

72

2018

41

68

60

89

2019

47

74

83

96

2020

57

82

77

114

2021*

58

74

57

111

Figure KM29-3: Self-sufficiency rate of meat in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Beef and veal[%]

Pigmeat[%]

Poultry meat[%]

2000

96

77

110

2001

119

81

113

2002

117

78

110

2003

107

86

114

2004

96

80

115

2005

93

70

112

2006

101

70

108

2007

101

74

114

2008

103

70

113

2009

98

55

109

2010

106

52

112

2011

110

50

113

2012

112

46

109

2013

107

40

117

2014

106

39

111

2015

99

35

103

2016

108

34

107

2017

110

38

109

2018

109

38

109

2019

103

40

111

2020

107

40

111

2021*

110

43

112

Figure KM29-4: Human consumption of agricultural products per capita in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Meat, total (carcass weight equivalent)[kg]

Eggs[kg]

Cereals[kg]

Potatoes[kg]

Vegetables[kg]

Fruit[kg]

Milk, total (raw milk equivalent)[kg]

Honey[kg]

2000

88.50

10.80

129.80

90.20

78.50

104.50

233.20

1

2001

93

10.10

135.20

79.60

73.40

79.10

227.90

1.20

2002

88

9.60

126.20

79.80

78.70

114.90

234.60

1.20

2003

99.20

6.90

123.60

72.50

81.50

100.10

228.70

1

2004

98.60

6.20

119.50

75.80

89

128.30

235.80

1.20

2005

97.30

6.50

124

76.80

91.30

125.10

235.30

1.10

2006

94.20

7

125.50

78.90

95.60

124.40

218.90

1.40

2007

94.70

8.90

123.90

81.40

90.30

131.70

223.60

0.90

2008

96.60

10

119.20

77.50

101

151.70

234

1

2009

94.10

10.20

108.70

72

103.20

148.50

230

1.10

2010

93.70

10.20

121.10

70.30

91.80

135.20

223.70

1.10

2011

89.50

10.10

118.10

66.40

97.10

129.30

218.90

1.40

2012

88.20

9.10

115.40

63.30

95.30

113

225.90

1

2013

82.20

10.30

112.30

59.40

98.30

129.40

218.60

1.40

2014

85

9.80

119.30

62.40

103.90

131.10

219.90

1.10

2015

88.30

11.10

120.90

68.30

109.90

134.20

218.70

1.40

2016

94.20

10.70

121.40

68.50

113.40

122.70

213.20

1.10

2017

93.10

11.50

121

68

114

121.60

209.90

0.90

2018

92.60

10.90

123.30

66.50

111.40

152.50

215.50

1.10

2019

90.80

11.70

120.40

62

117.50

127.90

214

0.70

2020

87.90

10.40

116.30

63.90

118.10

129

206

0.90

2021*

89.30

10.80

115.10

63.30

115.70

108.50

204.30

0.60

Figure KM29-5: Human consumption of cereals per capita in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Wheat[kg]

Barley[kg]

Rye[kg]

Maize[kg]

2000

101

2.10

5.60

19.10

2001

111

0.70

0.80

20.60

2002

103.40

0.70

1.20

19.10

2003

100

0.50

2.80

18.10

2004

97.10

0.60

2.80

16.60

2005

100.10

0.60

4.30

15.80

2006

101.90

0.60

4.90

15

2007

97.60

0.90

4.40

17.70

2008

94.60

0.60

4.40

16.40

2009

86

0.70

4.40

15.30

2010

100.40

0.80

3.80

13.40

2011

97.70

0.80

3

14.20

2012

95.30

0.70

2.80

14.20

2013

92.50

0.70

2.90

13.30

2014

102

0.80

3.70

9.20

2015

103.20

0.80

2.70

10.40

2016

103

0.80

2.90

11.40

2017

101.30

0.70

2.90

11.40

2018

103.80

0.90

3.20

11.30

2019

100.60

0.90

2.30

13.10

2020

98.80

0.90

1.50

11.50

2021*

99.10

1

1.20

9.90

Figure KM29-6: Human consumption of meat (carcass weight equivalent) per capita in Slovenia, 2000–2021
Sources: 

SORS, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

Beef and veal[kg]

Pigmeat[kg]

Poultry meat[kg]

2000

20.60

38.10

24.80

2001

20.20

41.30

26.10

2002

19.20

39.90

24.10

2003

23.60

42.40

24.90

2004

23.40

44.60

23.10

2005

23.60

44.20

24.70

2006

20.70

45.20

23

2007

21.10

42.10

26.10

2008

21.30

43.20

26.70

2009

20.50

40.50

28.10

2010

19.90

41.60

27.70

2011

19.80

39.60

26.20

2012

18.90

37.70

27.70

2013

18.60

35.50

24.80

2014

18.10

36.80

27

2015

19

37

28.90

2016

20

40.80

30

2017

20.80

37.60

31.10

2018

19.80

37.90

31.20

2019

20.10

36.50

30.60

2020

19.60

32.70

31.50

2021*

20.60

32.80

31

Figure KM29-7: Cereal self-sufficiency rate in Slovenia and other countries, 2019–2020
Sources: 

Eurostat, 2022; calculations by AIS

Chart note: 

*Preliminary data.

Show data

2019[%]

2020[%]

Lithuania

403.02

520.04

Latvia

379.04

414.66

Estonia

296.54

293.92

Bulgaria

313.88

237.21

Hungary

182.77

181.99

Croatia

143.15

178.27

Slovakia

150.74

167.33

Romania

149.31

144.53

Poland

103.70

115.72

Germany

106.10

105.08

Finland

123.49

100.48

Turkey

87.56

97.33

Slovenia

77.38

92.98

Greece

62.14

65.73

Italy

49.78

50.72

Ireland

53.47

42.10

Portugal

19.56

19.66


Goals

  • Ensuring food security and the highest possible level of self-sufficiency,
  • increasing the level of self-sufficiency by year 2020 for the following agricultural products and product groups: wheat, fodder grains, pulses, oilseeds, potatoes, vegetables (fresh and processed), pig meat, cheese, cottage cheese and honey,
  • increasing the self-sufficiency rate for vegetables to 50% by 2020,
  • increasing the self-sufficiency rate for pig meat to 70% by 2020,
  • by 2027, achieving and maintaining an adequate level of self-sufficiency in food and ensuring food security through the stable production of safe, high-quality and consumer-friendly food.

Countries can achieve food security through two mechanisms: self-sufficiency or imports from other countries. Self-sufficiency indicates the extent to which the country is able to provide the necessary quantities of food through domestic production. This is very important in ensuring the availability of food to the population, especially in conditions of disrupted international trade and strong price fluctuations in foreign markets. Self-sufficiency presents not only the basis for food security, but also allows the use of own production resources, maintains rural employment and cultivation, reduces poverty, and is important for human health and the environment. A higher level of self-sufficiency reduces the need for food imports, which also contributes to the reduction in emissions due to shorter transport distances (Revizijsko poročilo …, 2021).

Slovenia is one of the countries that are net importers of food, as domestic production does not fully cover the total domestic needs. The level of self-sufficiency for animal products is generally higher than the level of self-sufficiency for crops, while the lowest levels are on average recorded for vegetables, fruit and potatoes. Self-sufficiency rates in crop production are characterized by significant year-to-year fluctuations due to more or less abundant harvests (total amount of crops), which are also strongly influenced by extreme weather conditions, such as drought, frost, etc. (Travnikar et al., 2022). Global megatrends show that the increasingly variable climate in the future may negatively affect food production in terms of quantity and quality, thereby increasing Slovenia's dependence on the world markets (Sadauskis et al., 2019).

Self-sufficiency rates as well as per capita consumption of agricultural products in Slovenia are compared between the period before EU accession (2000–2003), the post-accession period (2004–2016) and the most recent years (2017–2021). Prior to EU accession, Slovenia was on average self-sufficient in milk and honey, and almost completely self-sufficient in eggs and meat. Of the individual types of meat, self-sufficiency was achieved in beef and poultry meat, while the self-sufficiency rate of pig meat was 81%. Average self-sufficiency in potatoes was also high (78%), while for other agricultural products it did not exceed 60%. In the post-accession period (2004–2013), the self-sufficiency rate of meat, potatoes, fruit and honey decreased more noticeably. In the case of potatoes and fruit, the reason is in reduced production volumes and extreme weather conditions, while self-sufficiency in meat was lower due to the significant decline in pig meat production. The latter declined due to slow structural changes, weak competitiveness, and price pressure (cheaper imports of foreign pig meat). A year after accession to the EU, a reform of the EU sugar market was adopted, which led to the closure of the sugar factory in Slovenia. Since then, no sugar has been produced in Slovenia, while before the adoption of reform, the self-sufficiency rate was on average 50%. In recent years (2017–2021), Slovenia had surpluses in milk, beef and poultry meat production. A high level of self-sufficiency was on average also achieved in grain maize (96%) and eggs (95%). The largest deficit in production, which had to be covered by imports, was in fruit, vegetables, potatoes, pig meat and honey. Compared to the pre-accession period (2000–2003), the level of self-sufficiency has decreased significantly in recent years for meat, potatoes, fruit and honey. Self-sufficiency in fruit, honey and pig meat has decreased the most (by more than half), while it has remained at similar levels for vegetables, beef, poultry meat and eggs. Only for cereals and milk, the level of self-sufficiency is significantly higher. In the case of cereals, an upward trend can be observed throughout the analysed period for all the main types (rye, barley and maize), except for wheat.

The data show that Slovenia has not met the goals set in the Strategic plan on implementing the resolution on strategic guidelines for agricultural and food industry development by 2020. The self-sufficiency in vegetables is slowly increasing but has not yet exceeded 50%, while the level of self-sufficiency in pig meat has remained at an average of 40% in recent years.

A comparison of self-sufficiency rates for cereals between Slovenia and the 16 European Union member states and Turkey shows large differences between countries. In 2020, the highest self-sufficiency rates were achieved in the Baltic states: Lithuania (520%), Latvia (415%) and Estonia (294%), followed by Bulgaria (237%) and Hungary (182%). Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Germany and Finland were also self-sufficient. Among the analysed countries, Slovenia ranked in the bottom third (13th place) in terms of self-sufficiency in cereals (self-sufficiency rate 93%). Lower self-sufficiency levels than in Slovenia were in 2020 in Greece (66%), Italy (51%), Ireland (42%) and Portugal (20%).

Like self-sufficiency rates, the per capita consumption of agricultural products in Slovenia fluctuates from year to year. The upward trend in human consumption is the most evident for vegetables, as in the period of the last few years (2017–2021) compared to the pre-accession period (2000–2003), consumption increased by 48%, namely from 78 to 115 kg per capita. The consumption of fruit (+28%; to 128 kg per capita) and eggs (+18%; to 11 kg per capita) also increased. On the other hand, the consumption of potatoes decreased the most in relative terms (–20%; to 65 kg per capita), while the consumption of milk decreased the most in quantitative terms. In the period of the last few years, each inhabitant of Slovenia consumed an average of 210 kg of milk in all forms, which is 21 kg less than in the pre-accession period. The consumption of cereals for food is also decreasing, amounting to an average of 119 kg per capita in recent years, which is 9 kg less than in the pre-accession period. Average meat consumption has decreased slightly between the two analysed periods (–2%; to 91 kg per capita), mainly due to lower consumption of pig meat. On the other hand, consumption of poultry meat has shown an increasing trend, averaging about 31 kg per capita in recent years.


Other sources and literature

Revizijsko poročilo: Zagotavljanje prehranske varnosti s pomočjo prehranske samooskrbe. 2021. Ljubljana, Računsko sodišče Republike Slovenije.
https://www.rs-rs.si/fileadmin/user_upload/Datoteke/Revizije/2021/Samooskrba/Samooskrba_RSP_RevizijskoP.pdf (21.9.2022)

Sadauskis R., Kolarič Š., White O. 2019. Vpliv globalnih megatrendov na stanje okolja v Sloveniji: Sklepne ugotovitve in priporočila. Bernard Vukadin (ur.). Ljubljana, Ministrstvo za okolje in prostor – Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje: 92 str.
http://nfp-si.eionet.europa.eu:8980/Public/irc/eionet-circle/javna/library?l=/cooperation_eeasodelovan/sloveniji_2017-2018/konno_poroilo&vm=detailed&sb=Title (19.10.2022)

Travnikar T. (ur.), Bedrač M., Bele S., Brečko J., Dvoršak H. A., Kožar M., Ložar L., Moljk B., Zagorc B. 2022. Poročilo o stanju kmetijstva, živilstva, gozdarstva in ribištva v letu 2021. Ljubljana, Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije: 264 str.
https://www.kis.si/f/docs/Porocila_o_stanju_v_kmetijstvu/ZP_2021_splosno__priloge_6.9.2022.pdf (26.10.2022)


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