Summary of newsmakers of the previous day - 07. 05. 2007

CR will disapprove sanction of European Commission for alleged excess reserves

A decision of the European Commission from the 4th of May 2007 on determination of excess reserves of agricultural products others than sugar and on financial consequences of removal of these reserves in connection with accession of new member states in the EU in 2004 was delivered at the Ministry of Agriculture today. Táňa Králová, a spokeswoman of the ministry, informed on it. According to her the Czech Republic will disapprove this decision. The decision determines financial sums which should be paid in the Community by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. For the CR the total sum 12 287 thousands Euros stays unchanged compared to the last the Commission´s proposal from the 4th of April 2007.

MZe: CR would like to reduce significant deficit in agri-business with China

The Czech Republic, according to the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič, would like to reduce about two-billion deficit in agrarian trade with China in the future. Therefore support of Czech export is one of the main objectives of work visit when the Minister go to China from 8 to 12 May accompanied by about two tens of representatives of domestic food-industry enterprises. Czech food industry will present among others at an international fair SIAL CHNA 2007. While Czech export of agricultural and food goods in Chinese market did not exceed 100 million crowns in last four years, import from China was 1,6 to 2,4 billion crowns. So the deficit moved between 1,6 to 2,3 billion crowns.

Gandalovič wants to fasten sale of state land to Czech farmers

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič (ODS) wants to fasten sale of state land to Czech farmers so that they could buy it already by the year 2011 when a transitive period negotiated with the EU will have ended. “Yes, I go all out so that state land would be offered for purchase to our farmers already at the meantime”, said the minister in today´s program of Czech television Questions of Václav Moravec. His opponent in a discussion, a shadow minister of agriculture Michal Hašek (ČSSD) marked it as good news for inland farmers. The proposal for release of conditions of sale of land to EU citizens is contained in the novel of foreign exchange act and other laws which lie in the Parliament. “I personally came to an agreement with the agricultural committee that negotiation on this law will not proceed anyhow dramatically fast because I would like so that our farmers would have still a possibility to buy as much land as possible under this protection”, Gandalovič said.

Farmers will set off to fight against trade chains

A chief of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic Jan Veleba came out against a discrimination of inland goods by large trade chains. With some exceptions they are in foreign hands and they tend to prefer goods of their domestic producers. “The situation is serious and we are not going to wait other months, maybe years”, Veleba said in Czech television on Sunday. In his opinion the Agrarian Chamber prepares nation-wide protest actions which should be realized in June. We formed a team which will prepare these actions”, he added. The president of Agrarian Chamber CR Jaroslav Camplík is more careful. Contrary to almost a compact mass of farmers the protesting firms have much to lose.