Sales plunge in Croatia amid new boycott over high prices
ZAGREB

Sales at retailers across Croatia plunged for the second straight week on Friday following calls for a fresh boycott to protest against soaring prices in the Balkan country.
On Jan. 31, turnover at retail outlets had dropped by 42 percent compared with the same time two weeks ago, according to Croatia's tax administration.
"Today we won't buy anything neither physically nor online," read a post by a leading consumer advocacy group that organised the boycott.
As part of the protest, Croatians were urged to refrain from shopping at retail outlets and grocery stores, and avoid using delivery services, banks, restaurants and cafes.
The boycott was also to include shopping online, paying bills or buying fuel.
Similar calls for boycotts spread in the Balkans, with social media posts in Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia urging shoppers to stay home on Jan. 31.
Croatians were also asked to avoid three large retail chains, Eurospin, Lidl and DM, for a one-week boycott.
The boycott was also targeting Coca-Cola and other carbonated soft drinks along with bottled water and detergents.
Across Croatia, grocery stores and parking lots appeared mostly empty, according to posts on social media.
The protests come after average food prices soared by more than 30 percent in the past three years, according to official figures.
In December, the country's 4.5 percent annual inflation rate was the highest in the eurozone, where the average stood at 2.4 percent.