Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 8.11. 2006

Agri-trade deficit is till September almost as higher as last year over the whole year

The Czech Republic showed deficit 24.2 milliard crowns in trade with agricultural and food products in nine months which is year-on-year increase by a quarter. From the Ministry of Agriculture’s data it results that the unfavourable balance over the whole last year was 24.9 milliard crowns. Agrarian export till September this year stagnated year-on-year at the level of 56.6 milliard crowns. By contrast import increased by seven percents to 80.8 milliard. More than four fifths of agrarian trade was realized with the EU countries with which the CR had deficit 19.3 milliard crowns. The total balance last year was improved mainly by export of surpluses of cereals from the year before last year record harvest. This year the cereals export is by 27 percent lower and makes 3.9 milliard crowns over nine months.

Production of electric current from biomass will grow hardly due to buy-out prices increase

Production of electric energy from biomass increases hardly this year. For example the company ˙EZ produced over 158 GWh of electric current over three quarters, year-on-year it is two and half times more. According to the ˙EZ spokesman, Ladislav K˙í˙, the main reason is that the Energetic Regulation Office increased buy-out prices for electricity produced from bio-mass which enabled also growth of prices for biomass purchase. The office increased the buy-out price in some categories as much as by 100 percents from January. However, biomass is still only neglectable resource in the total electricity production, this year it will be three per milles.

Forest firms want to stop new tenders of LCR; ÚOHS will decide

Firms from the Association of entrepreneurs in forest management demand to stop current tenders of Lesy of the Czech Republic, or a ban of signing of contracts with their winners. Therefore they applied to the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) so that it produces a preliminary measure to secure it, Roman Baj˙an from medial representation of foresters said it to CTK. According to him the measure should be in force until the court decides on claim of LCR against the ÚOHS verdict to original contracts. According to the director Ji˙í Ko˙ínek, the Czech Association of Entrepreneurs in Forest Management has remarks on cond itions of present tenders announced by LCR. However, it wants to discuss all. “We will not support the requirement of stopping of tenders”, said Ko˙ínek. According to him, if this requirement succeeded, it would obviously invoke a chaos in forest management.

Farmers will harvest less, however, they will earn more

Despite this year’s historically lowest production Czech farmers will obviously end the yearly economy with profit. The chairman of Agricultural Union CR, Miroslav Jirovský, announced it. He reported that first of all dotations will contribute to the positive result. Agricultural enterprises will create profit for the third year. “Who harvested cereals during rain sales considerably better”, Jirovský explained. On the contrary, somewhere the crop was depreciated largely – cereals in rainy August germinated in spikes and mould. According to the Union farmers earned about 4.5 milliard crowns last year. The year before the last year it was still by 4.1 milliard crowns more.