Summary of newsmakers from the previous day 4.8.2005

Novel of agricultural law returns in parliament, senate refused it

The Senate refused a novel of agricultural law today, which shell among other adjusts providing of agricultural dotations and put more exactly an evidence of agricultural land. Most of senators tend to an opinion that a draft contains too much legislative mistakes and it would cause more damage then good. It means that the novel will be probably judged again by the parliament in August. The parliament can vote down the Senate, if at least 101 M.Ps. raise a hand for the draft law. Already in the Parliament the novel was criticized and now also in the Senate, mainly by the ODS representatives, but not by just them.

Agrarian foreign trade

According to sources from the Czech statistical office the agrarian foreign trade with live animals and meat strengthened in 2005 by more than a half then in the same period in the last year. In the same term January to May 2004 in count on crowns 231 mil. CZK were imported in the CR for live animals, whereas this year in the same term it was already 374 mil. CZK, which is an increase by 61,9%. Live animal export increased by 50,25% from 995 CZK in 2004 to 1 495 mil. CZK in 2005. Also meat and meat products export grew. In 2005 the CR imported 3 958 mil. CZK of meat, which is an increase in comparison with the last year by 54,6% from 2 560 mil. The export increased similarly, by 58,6% from the last year's 1 072 CZK to this year 1 700 mil. CZK.

Almost 30 000 entrepreneurs did not delivered the alcohol lists

From the estimated number of eighty thousands of entrepreneurs, to whom a duty to deliver lists of non-stamped alcohol refers, only 52 000 people kept the engagement. According to customs officers' formulation they will wait to the next Monday when delivery of lists sent by a post is estimated. From the next week for two following months customs officers will start to exercise random checks, mainly in the entrepreneurs who did not deliver the lists. If it will be found out that a tax avoidance happened, customs officers according to a law can fine from 50 000 to one million crowns.

Czech hops is still demanded but it can happen that the demand will not be sufficiently satisfied

The present acreage of hop gardens in the Czech Republic is the lowest in the last 134 years. “The biggest fall, 163 hectares, is in Žatec region where also Rakovník region belongs to. There 105 hectares of hop gardens decreased”, says Zdeněk Rosa from the Hop growers union of The Czech Republic.