Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 5.2.2008

Producers: Presently price of milk will not decreased significantly

Presently prices of milk and milk products compared to January level evidently will not significantly decrease. Representatives of dairy works and their suppliers agreed on it at today's press conference. For example, according to a director of the dairy work Choceň, Petr Marek prices of milk products will rather keep at the current level or they will decrease only a little. Prices increased in the second half of the last year owing to increased demand for milk in Europe. Also according to a vice-chairman of the Milky and Economic Cooperative Jih, Zdeněk Houška the coop as one of the biggest milk producers in the Czech Republic will keep January buy-out prices in next months.

Olomoucké tvarůžky will not get protection from EU for the present

Olomoucké tvarůžky (typical cakes of cheese from Olomouc) will not get a protected mark from the European Union for the present. There are several objections against their all-European registration which have to be now examined by the European Commission. Tvarůžky are produced in Loštice near Olomouc. “Obtaining of the protection would bring a competitive advantage on the market to the Loštice producers and it would increase possibilities of a successful protection against various imitations especially in Austria”, said Jan Březina, a Euro-representative who helps to negotiate Czech applications in Brussels. A deadline for reception of objections against registration of this cheese with a characteristic odour in a list of foods with protected geographical marking expired on Monday at midnight.

Restitution stop broken. Fair farmers will get land

A restitution stop in form of end of possibility to get back land confiscated by communists except original land owners refer nor to farmers who got the land by a fair way from restituents and want to manage on it. The Supreme Court has decided on it in a precedential verdict. According the court the ban of obtaining land applies to speculators. Thanks to this decision those farmers, who got the right for land from the original owners with that they want to enlarge their agricultural farm, still have a claim from state for the land.

Novel will enable to return consumption tax also from bio-oil to farmers

If farmers working on a field will use bio-oil, they are in a danger that they will not get back a part of consumption tax from the state as it has been till now. The present law on consumption tax does not enable it. It should be set right by an amendment of act which has been prepared by a group of representatives together with the minister of agriculture Petr Gandalovič. According to the president of Agrarian Chamber Jan Veleba, the return premium of consumption tax is very important for farmers. “We agree completely with it (the novel). The return premium is six crowns per a liter of oil regardless of how much it costs. It is a significant item and if it was not, so it would have a serious impact on competitiveness of Czech farmers”, Veleba said to ČTK.