Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 7.1.2008

Gandalovič: Eco-farmers will be able to sow fifth of pasturages with cereals

The Ministry of Agriculture (MZe) will permit ecological farmers to sow yearly a fifth of pasturages with cereals for own consumption together with grasses. The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič said it to ČTK today. MZe reacts in this way to requirements of ecological farmers associated in the Union of Marginal Areas; the possibility of production of own feed will enable piedmont eco-farms to reduce costs. Farmers welcome the measure, however, according to them it does not solve the situation.

Price of beer will rise by as much as quarter

Inland lovers of beer will face bad time this year. A price of beer rose owing to expensive raw materials already last year in autumn and according to specialists the increase will continue also in the new year. The blackest estimations talk about as much as quarter increase during the year. “We must not say, due to a possible influencing a market, how much prices will rise, however, we can say how costs will rise. Barley in comparison with the last harvest is more expensive by eighty per cents, therefore an impact on the total costs in beer production will be higher as much as by 24 percents. It will obviously show itself in a price policy of breweries”, Jan Veselý, a chief of the Czech Beer and Malt Association confirmed it to Deník.

Renowned firms live years in loss, however, they don't want to end

Such losses would be a bad dream even for famously unprofitable České dráhy. In the first ten of the most unprofitable firms in the Czech Republic there are three trade chains but also mobile operator. How it is possible that so well-known names unweighted with some state inheritance are in minus? Businessmen war among themselves mainly by attracting customers to a lower price. It steals crowns from their gains. Not all are able to cope with it so much that they will maintain here. Some unprofitable chains as Delvita or Carrefour have already surrendered their fight. The most unprofitable Ahold which operates Hypernovas and Alberts have hold on for the present.

Comparative test of prices and availability of bio-foods in Prague

From results of a comparative test which compared an offer of bio-foods in eight trade chains and two specialized shops of bio-food and conventional foods were found out following results. The wider assortment of bio-food: It is offered by specialized bio-shops (57 from 59 monitored items of purchase basket); from trade chains the wider supply is in Interspar (43 from 59 items), TESCO (41 from 59 items) and Billa (32 from 59 items). The most easily accessible bio-foods are e.g. milk products (milk was in offer in 9 monitored sale place; fruit yoghurt in 8), flour (8 sale places), and potatoes (7 sale places).