Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 29. 10. 2008

SZIF is prepared for intervention purchase of cereals

The State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) will start to receive offers in intervention purchase of cereals. Farmers will have a possibility to offer their crop and tradesmen their resources of common wheat and barley till the 31st of May 2009. Reception of offers of corn will be limited in frame of all EU-27 member states for economic year 2008/2009 by a ceiling in an aggregate volume 700 000 tons. A basic intervention price guaranteed by the European Union is still 101,31 Euro/t; also a month compensatory extra pay for stocking is added in form of 0,46 Euro/t/month.

Carp is the cheapest just now

If we are not able to get along without carp on your Christmas-Eve table, you don´t have to despair that it will be more expensive than last year. According to fishermen prices on the before-X-mass market will be probably the same as a year ago when they went up. However, you can buy carp for the cheapest price just now. Fishermen sale it immediately after a haul in place to interested people. A number of them is huge in every one in the region Litoměřice. The same as on Monday at a pond in Milešov. However, fishing enthusiasts from Velemín and the surrounding don´t take breeding and subsequent sale of carps as activities on which they would like to capitalize.

Špekáčky stand a chance for European protection

The Czech Republic together with France wants the European Union to protect traditional local specialties in the future. The approach of both countries means that also špekáčky (knockwursts) could wait to see Union protection which is asked together by the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The European Commission proposes to cancel a protection of “traditional guaranteed local specialties” in the future. A definitive decision should be made in time of Czech presidency. “France is for maintenance of trade-marking of food products. We are unambiguously for sustenance of protection of local specialties. Also our liberal agrarian policy wants to protect traditional foods which are a part of cultural tradition and heritage”.

Catarrhal fever in the Netherlands

A confirmed serotype 6 is common in Africa and Central America, not in Europe. At present in Europe a serotype BTV 8 is common; however, a serotype 6 was confirmed in four cows on four different farms in the Netherlands now. There is no vaccine against this type in Europe. Therefore Dutch ministry is now finding out whether it is possible to vaccinate cattle by vaccines used in Africa and Central America also in Europe. Ministers of Agriculture of the European Union discuss the infection now at a meeting in Luxembourg; they also solve a question of vaccination. At present the EU contributes to vaccination of cattle against a serotype 8.