COMPARISON OF RETAIL FOOD PRICES IN SLOVENIA AND CROATIA

Slovenija in Hrvaška, nekdaj tesno povezani državi s skupnim gospodarstvom, sta se po osamosvojitvi začeli razvijati z različno intenzivnostjo. Slovenija je tako leta 2004 postala članica EU in leta 2007 še članica EMU. Sprostil se je prost pretok blaga, poenostavilo se je poslovanje zaradi enotne valute. Hrvaška, država kandidatka za vstop v EU, pa se je zaradi slabih političnih razmer in vojne v začetku devetdesetih let razvijala počasneje. Skozi številne kazalnike smo preučili gospodarstvi obe držav in ugotovili, da sicer obe državi zaostajata za povprečjem EU-27, vendar je slovensko gospodarstvo razvitejše, saj je BDP na prebivalca po pariteti kupne moči leta 2008 v Sloveniji znašal 89,8 % povprečja EU-27, raven cen pa je dosegla 83 % povprečja EU-27. Na Hrvaškem je BDP na prebivalca znašal 63 % povprečja EU-27, raven cen pa je dosegla 74,7 % povprečja EU-27.V drugem sklopu diplomskega dela smo analizirali cene v vzorcu 157 živil, razdeljenih v 13 osnovnih skupin. Pri primerjavi 1419 cen živil smo prišli do naslednjih ugotovitev: Raven censke paritete živil znaša 105, kar pomeni, da so cene v Sloveniji za 5 % višje kot na Hrvaškem. Najdražjo skupino predstavljajo izdelki iz žit, ki so v Sloveniji dražji za 21 %, najdražje živilo pa je česen. Ta je v Sloveniji dražji za 154 % v primerjavi s Hrvaško. Najcenejša skupina v Sloveniji so predelane in konzervirane vrtnine, ki so cenejše za 8 %, najcenejše živilo v Sloveniji pa so bomboni Haribo Happy Cola. Ti so za 32 % cenejši od tistih na Hrvaškem.Slovenia and Croatia, once closely associated coutries with the common economy have been developing since independency with different intensity. Slovenia joined the EU in 2004 and is a member of EMU since 2007. The free movement of goods was released and operations were simplified due to the single currency. Croatia, a country candidate for entry into the EU, due to a bad political situation and a war in the early nineties, has developed more slowly. Through a number of indicators we have studied economies of both countries and found out, that while both countries are behind the average EU-27, Slovenian economy is more developed, because the GDP per capita in purchasing power parity in Slovenia in 2008 amounted to 89,8 % of the EU-27 average and the price level was 83,0 % of the EU-27 average. In Croatia, the GDP per capita was 63 % of EU-27 average and the price level has reached 74, 7 % of the EU-27.In the second part we analyzed 157 food prices, divided into 13 basic groups. While comparing 1419 food prices, we have come to the following conclusions: The level of food price parity is 105, which means, that prices in Slovenia are 5 % higher than in Croatia. The most expensive group is presented by cereal products, which are more expensive in Slovenia by 21 %. The most expensive food is garlic, which is more expensive in Slovenia by 154 %. The cheapest group in Slovenia are processed and canned vegetables, which are cheaper by 8 %, the cheapest food in Slovenia are sweets Haribo Happy Cola. They are cheaper in Slovenia by 32 %