Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 15.3.2006

State will add other 500 million CZK for direct payments to farmers

The state will add other 500 million crowns for agricultural direct subsidies which it will even up to 65 percent of the level of the old EU member states, so to the allowed maximum. It results from today’s negotiation of representatives of the government and agrarian organizations. The Ministry of Agriculture will secure money in frame of its resort. The State Agricultural Intervention Fund, which manages the supports, will borrow the mentioned sum from the Subsidiary Guarantee Rural and Forestry Fund. The direct payments from the EU will grow this year to 35 percent of the level in the old member states in comparison with the last year’s 30 percents. According to the accession agreement the state can pay them up to 65 percent.

Bread and pastry will rise in price due to costs

As much as by a third consumption prices of bread, pastry and other bakery products could grow during next two month in the CR. It was confirmed at today’s board meeting of the Entrepreneurial Association of bakers and pastry-cooks by the chairman Stanislav Musil. According to his data in effect all bakeries in the Czech Republic are in red numbers first of all due to rise in prices of energies. According to the Association the price of natural gas has increased by 25 percent and the price of electricity by 13,5 percent. Thanks to this year’s long winter costs for energies have risen in some entrepreneurs as much as by 60 percent.

The Parliament adjusted rules for land transfer

The Parliament in the context of December abolition of a so called restitution stop by the Constitution Court has changed partially the new rules for land transfer to restituents. The representatives have adopted these rules already before the decision of the constitutional judges. Changes of the law on land, which were put through in the Parliament by ČSSD and KSČM, were refused by the Senate in January. Critics argued that they favouritize the group of people which still have outstanding debts in neighbours, and give them a possibility to gain building lands for prices of 1990. However, the representatives identified with the standpoint of senators only partially today, when they did not support the amendment to the law on land and the amendment to the law on land transfers connected to the breeding law.

“Strong three” changes business around foods

Agrofert will becom the first inland firm which will overrule the complete food production, “ from a dunk-fork to a fork”. “We have already had the purchase of cereals, meat combines and bakeries; now we will get the farmers”, describes Andrej Babiš, the head of Agrofert the intention to buy farms. Agrofert is not on its own. With his competitors Agropol and Agrotrade it is connected not only with initials in their names, but also with a tactics which they follow in enlargement of a trade imperium. In fact, it is American strategy. In the USA, where stocks of agri-food concerns belong to equally demanded as securities of armament or pharmacy firms, it has succeeded. The success of American food producers lies just in the fact that they decrease significantly the production costs by the production of own products. In the Czech Republic Agropol prepares an investment in own fattening stations; Agrotrade has already built own hatchery for chickens.

Source: Agris, 16.3.2006