Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 7.3.2007

EU asks the Czech Republic for change of direct payments to farmers

Czech farmers has got in a dispute with the European Commission due to rules for endowment of farmers. The Commission requires so that the Czech Republic would change a system so called direct payments to farmers which are added to the Brussels subsidies by the Czech state. Today’s Hospodá˙ské noviny (HN) wrote it. “The Czech Republic and Latvia are the only two states of the Union which have problems with implementation of a new system”, Johan Reyniers from the cabinet of the agrarian commissioner Mariann Fisher- Boel confirmed it to HN on Monday. According to new rules since this year farmers have to get direct payments only areally according to a number of hectares. Till this time these subsidies have advantaged some fields, for example growing of hops, flax or cattle breeding.

Anxiety: growth of cheese consumption in CR is caused by increasing import

Cheeses are a fixed part of everyday bill of fare in the Czech Republic which results also from growth of their consumption. In last year 16,6 kg of cheese and cottage cheeses have been consumed per a person which ranks us on the first place from the Central European countries, and with this level we approximate to traditional cheesemaking countries of West Europe. However, the Bohemian-Moravian Dairy Industry Union is anxious about the fact that first of all increasing import has shared in growth of consumption last years and that it is at the expense of its own domestic production. Czech dairy industry as a part of European community market decisively does not want to stay against liberalization of trade and to obstruct free economic competition, nevertheless, it strongly protests against unfair competition and deceiving of consumers.

MZe wants to solve rising price of potatoes

As much as 20 crowns per kilogram of potatoes Czech consumers have to pay at this time. Farmers are leaving production of potatoes. Last year’s harvest was low and growers are not sure whether they will sell the production. The Ministry of Agriculture (MZe) is going to save the situation on the potato market by means of dotations. According to the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovi˙ the subsidies could be covered from the European Union’s funds. It would be possible to use them for storage, a purchase of new technologies and for marketing, he said.

Reserve of apples is hardly average

Every year the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Fruit growing Union CR processes information on amount of consumption apples in stores. Also this time it evaluated it to the 1 of December 2006. In comparison with the year before last, below the average year concerning the harvest, the present reserve of apples is higher but below the average in the long term. An unusually large part of last year ’s production had to be processed regarding the damage to fruits by hailstorm or by scab. In total 39 169 ton of Czech consumption apples lied in stores of fruit growers and store-persons in December. This reserve is year-on-year higher by 18 % but the last year’s harvest was influenced significantly by spring frosts and was the lowest in the last ten years.