Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 6.3.2007

Sugar refineries can buy quota of 20 000 tons; meanwhile they ask 15 000 t

By the end of this year's September domestic sugar refineries will have been able to buy a quota for sugar production in total sum of about 20 000 ton. Meanwhile they were interested in something more than 15 000 ton. Each sugar refinery can get an aliquot part from the total volume corresponding to its present production limit. ČTK was told it during today's workshop in the Senate by a directress of the department of plant commodities at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eva Divišová. Only the company Eastern Sugar has not asked for the quota. It wants to leave the CR and to return the EU production quota in exchange for a restructuring support. Remaining c. 5 000 on including a part falling on Eastern Sugar can be divided, according to Divišová, among interested people in next round of submitting the applications. Other purchase of the quota can moderate an impact of Eastern Sugar leaving by which the Czech Republic will lose 22,5 percent from the total limit for production of 454 000 ton of sugar.

Gandalovič wants to support more biofood production

An unsatisfactory structure of ecological agriculture, insufficient supply of biofoods from domestic raw material on Czech market and insufficient influence of present supports for employment are the main reasons which led the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič to a decision to revise a height of endowment in ecological agriculture. A rate of support for management in ecological system on permanent grass stands changes to 70,51 Euro per hectare, i.e. 2100 crowns per hectare with an exchange rate introduced in the Rural Development Plan for period 2007-2013. “On a considerable area of permanent grass stands a very extensive way of management is applied with above-average supports. They do not stimulate demanding restructuring of Czech agriculture towards a transfer of cattle breeding into mountain and foothill areas.

EU member states still cannot agree on renewable energy

Members of the European Union still can not agree whether also increase in a share of renewable energy should be ranged among measures for fifgt with climatic changes, and whether such an aim should be obligatory. A for of the collection of measures for fight with a change of climate will be one of main topics of coming EU summit. Some countries including France and state of Central Europe defend vehemently against the obligatory increase in share of renewable energy in the total energetic production; they neither changed their position today's meeting of union ministers of foreign affairs.

Minister Petr Gandalovič participated in the Small Municipalities Day

Since this year also the Ministry of Agriculture has joined the competition Village of the year, which was advertised today on the occasion of meeting of mayors of Czech municipalities at the Small Municipalities Days in Prague. Táňa Králová, a spokeswoman of the Ministry of Agriculture informed on it. According to her the office comes in the competition with a novelty which is bestowing a special appraisal - an orange riband for the best preparation and realization of a common project of a municipality and agricultural subject. “I am very glad to be able to continue the idea of my predecessor Milena Vicenová and to sign on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture conditions of the competition Village of the year 2007. Also by means of this competition we would like to emphasize how important is so that farmers and representatives of municipalities would find a common language in area of infrastructure, industrial innovation, development of human resources, environment conservation, and renewal of the countryside.