Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 21. 1. 2009

Home dairymen and farmers welcome intervention milk purchases

Home milk processors and farmers welcome Monday decision of the European Union which decided to support stagnating European milk market with purchases of dry milk and butter for in-advance set prices. ČTK found it out today in an inquiry. The EU wants to subsidize also export of butter and dry skimmed milk as well as dry full-cream milk and cheeses. The intervention purchases should start in March and last till August.

Union: Deficit of agrarian foreign trade decreased as much as by third

The Agricultural Union of CR estimates that a deficit of foreign agrarian trade of the Czech Republic decreased to roughly 20 billion crowns last year from more than 31 billion CZK in 2007. A cause of the presumed decrease in deficit is year-on-year increase in export; import should amount the same as the year before last roughly to 130 billion crowns. Since 1993 when a balance of foreign trade with agricultural products and foods was positive for the last time, the Czech Republic has been a new importer. “For the first time since 1993 there have been perspectives for 2008 for improvement of the situation in CR foreign trade. However, it is dealt with whether it will be a steady trend or only a temporary change.

Already 40 percent of consumers buy bio-foods

Bio-foods become a matter of fact in Czech consumers´ shopping. Today 39 % consumers buy bio-foods, of it 14 % regularly (at last once a week). A national logo BIO, with which the bio-foods are marked, is known already by 54 % of consumers; a bio-food seller knows already 74 % of consumers in their surrounding. It results from actual results of bio-food market research. Consumers have already had a relatively clear idea what bio-foods are, and what are the positive contributions of their consummation.

Rapid Alert System has sense

In an absolute majority of cases an announcement of information on potentially or really objectionable food through the RASFF system will prevent from getting something objectionable to a final costumer. The State Veterinary Administration of ČR uses the RASFF- Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed and it even inserts its findings in it. Besides the State Veterinary Administration of the CR the members of a network using the system are for example also the State Agricultural and Food Inspection, the Central Checking Agricultural Institute (ÚKZÚZ) and authorities of the Ministry of Health Service.