Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 14.11. 2007

Gandalovič asks for 200 million crowns for pig breeders

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič appealed to the Ministry of Finances Miroslav Kalousek today for an extraordinary endowment 200 million crowns from budget reserve. According to him, the money should help farmers to manage a situation in the pig breeding sector. Amounts of so called “Infection fund” No. 8, so increase of a contribution for liquidation of cadavers, will be used to the increase.

Bird flu again. In Great Britain

In Great Britain, in the county Suffolk a highly pathogenic subtype H5N1 has been diagnosed; practically the same as which occurred on European continent last and this years. A spokesman of the State Veterinary Administration of the CR (SVS) Josef Duben informed on it today. According to his words it confirms that it is necessary to count still on a risk of occurrence of this disagreable and poultry breeding scourging and trade-limiting disease.

Budgeting of forest billions

A decision on who will get almost six-billion commissions in state forests is made by a transparent system or by a random sample without clear rules? According to findings of MF DNES rather the latter seems to be true. Decision making on which private firms will share in trade with its wood in next three years and will get commissions for works in state forests is now finishing in the state enterprise Lesy České Republiky (LČR). The biggest power is in hands of three five-member evaluating commissions which influence directly whether particular firms will succeed or not. Neither chiefs of LČR nor members of commissions want to say according to which criteria they make decisions.

Farmer prices increased by quarter

From data published on Wednesday the most protruding is rise in prices of agricultural producers. Farmer prices increased year-on-year by 24,4 percents while prices of industrial producers by 4,4 percents and of construction works by 4,3 percents. The weakest growth was recorded in a service sector - only by two percents. Analysts expected further growth of food prices. However, they assume that ČNB probably will not increase interest rates in November.