Summary of newspaper of the previous day – 7. 2. 2011

According to Fuksa, foods will raise in price by several percents

The Minister of Agriculture Ivan Fuksa (ODS) estimated food prices growth in Czech shops owing to increase of commodity world prices in ones of percents. He told in a TV programme “Otázky Václava Moravce” (Václav Moravec´s Questions) that the rise in process will amount to two, three or four percents. Also the shadow minister of agriculture, Michal Hašek (ČSSD) thinks that the growth will be in ones of percents. However, Hašek warned that if estimated increase in reduced rate of the added value tax happens to 19 or 20 percents, a half of this growth would show itself also in further rise in food prices. Such an increase of VAT rate in foods would be killing for farmers, the president of Agrarian Chamber, Jan Veleba stated.

Germany: Bio-foods share with 3.6 percents in chains turnovers

According to an agency Nielsen, bio-foods achieved a share 3.6 percents in the total turnovers of conventional retail chains, including discounts, in 2010. According to the newest statistics, bio-foods turnovers in 2010 remained at the level of 2009 in Germany, so approximately 5.8 billion Euros. Some German discount chains, like Lidl and Penny, have narrowed their bio-foods supply recently. Conventional retail chains, whose bio-foods turnover decreased by 3 percents in 2009, recorded an increase in bio turnovers by 2 percents in the first nine months in 2010.

Importers will report origin of meat, regulation will be made in month

The Minister of Agriculture Ivan Fuksa (ODS) wants to achieve so that the government approve in a month a duty for importers to inform inspection authorities about the food origin. Fuksa told it in a TV programme “Otázky Václava Moravce” (Václav Moravec´s Questions) and added that this duty will be imposed on base of a government regulation. The president of Agrarian Chamber Jan Veleba welcomes this measure, after that it will be reputedly up to a consumer to choose whether to prefer imported foods to Czech or vice versa. Fuksa stated at the same time on Sunday that he wants to support more Czech pig breeders from a total sum of 800 million crowns, of which the ministry disposes to support delicate commodities next year.

Pure foods do not exist

Most of laic public does not have the slightest idea in how much contaminated environment in the civilized world it lives at all. Nevertheless, all raw material resources for foods come from this environment and no farmer is able to prevent it. Therefore, it is not quite strategic to advocate a purity of agricultural production, even of our. Foods are not the main cause of diseases. That´s why, in the present situation, it would be quite advisable not to anatomize populistically the dioxin and any other causes too much because nobody, without own blame, can not say for a certainty that he/she will have in his/her product always and