Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 18 .2. 2009

Parliament enabled transfer of 1,3 billion crowns for direct payments to farmers

The Chamber of Deputies approved a proposal today enabling a transfer of 1,3 billion crowns from incomes of the Land Fund of the CR to even up a part of direct payments to Czech farmers. It also agreed so that the Subsidiary and Guarantee Rural and Forestry Fund (PGRLF) could support farmers´ operational credits from its money. Now the proposal will be considered by the Senate. „Our aim was a planned evening-up of ninety-percent level of direct payments of „old“ member states of the European Union.

CR noted record increase of shopping centers last year

(A press information of the company INCOMA Research to the project SHOPPING CENTER & HYPERMARKET 2009) Despite the coming crisis, building-up of shopping centers in the Czech Republic intensified last year. Complexes, whose building-up started in the period of developer boom from 2006 to half of 2008, were opened. Thanks to this expansion two tens of shopping centers and retail parks were opened in our country last year.

Minister Gandalovič welcomes decision of court in the affairs of Lesy ČR tenders

Refusal of actions of 16 forest firms against the decision of the Office for Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), on which the Regional court in Brno decided today, was welcomed by the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič. The court confirmed a stand-point of the Antimonopoly Office, according to which s.p. Lesy ČR has to publish selective proceedings for forest works.

Number of organic farmers has increased

A number of organic farmers increased almost by half to 1946 farms in the Czech Republic last year. Farmers merge to the organic farming owing to a growing demand for bio-foods which showed itself last year also in year-on-year increase in a number of registered bio-food producers by 169 to 422. It results from statistics published by the Ministry of Agriculture (MZe). Organic farming reaches near 350 000 hectares in the Czech Republic according to MZe data and a share of organic agriculture on the total acreage of agricultural land exceeded eight percents.