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Unusually cold spring weather may, according to farmers, delay the harvest of early potatoes. “The harvest, and therefore the sales season of fresh potatoes, lasts from the beginning of June to November, ie about 25 weeks. Every week of delay means a four percent drop in sales, “explains Petr Hanka, a member of the Board of Directors of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic.
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“Shortening the season by one to two weeks is a big problem for growers. Unharvested production from the first half of June pushed down prices of ware potatoes in the summer months. During the holidays, wholesale prices in the Czech Republic were one of the lowest in Europe, and low purchase prices for potatoes still crush growers, ”he adds.
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Purchase prices discourage growers
At present, growers sell a kilogram of potatoes for three crowns. When buying “from the yard”, the consumer pays eight to ten crowns per kilogram.
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In retail stores, Czech families pay between ten and fifteen crowns, in chain promotions between five and nine crowns per kilogram.
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“We assume that at the time when trade in stored production begins, there will be a slight increase in the farm price of ware potatoes,” adds Josef Králíček, chairman of the Czech Potato Union.
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Consumption of potatoes
- Each Czech consumes about 65 kilograms of potatoes a year.
- Potatoes are the best food concentrate in the world and at the same time a cheap source of energy and nutritionally important substances. They are rich in minerals, vitamins and proteins (including essential amino acids) and are almost fat-free.
- Potatoes, along with corn, wheat and rice, are among the four most important crops in the world.
- Since 1994, their worldwide production has increased from 230 million tonnes to almost 400 million tonnes. China and India in particular recorded an increase.
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Source: Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic
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Ware potatoes are grown on smaller areas than last year. It is 14.5 thousand hectares. Domestic production will not cover the total consumption and about 150 thousand tons will need to be imported from foreign markets, most often from Germany, France or the Netherlands.
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“The reason for the need for imports is, in addition to the insufficient acreage of growing areas, also the long-term underfunded technological background of growers, especially the lack of storage capacity,” explains Petr Hanka. “Price instability makes ware potatoes a very risky crop. Current sales events in retail chains, where a kilogram of early potatoes are sold well below production costs, may lead growers to further reduce their growing areas, ”he adds.
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Self-sufficiency by the end of the decade
On the contrary, the long-term goal of the potato sector is to gradually increase the area and ensure higher self-sufficiency. It is now around seventy-eighty percent in the Czech Republic.
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Czech farmers often prefer to grow other crops over potatoes, either because of high risk, higher labor, or uncertain sales. The Ministry of Agriculture assumes that the Czech Republic should achieve full self-sufficiency in this commodity by 2030.
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Potato growers cannot do without support
Long-term state support for growers is needed to expand production areas for potato growing. Potatoes are included among the so-called sensitive commodities, for which farmers receive higher subsidies. Due to the size of the Czech market, agricultural producer prices are significantly affected by the situation abroad and more or less copy the foreign level. It is no exception that for many farmers, potato cultivation has fallen below profitability.
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This year, the cultivation and processing of ware potatoes in the Q CZ quality regime was started. That is, in a regime where the consumer is sure that the potatoes have been grown in the Czech Republic with guaranteed quality and food safety.
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The label also guarantees the cultivation, handling, storage, packaging and processing of potatoes with regard to the environment and the protection of consumer health. Previously, the designation was valid in the dairy industry.
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“Applicants who have applied for this program and meet the criteria set on the basis of certification may apply to the Ministry of Agriculture for the Q CZ trademark. At the same time, they can apply for financial support for partial reimbursement of additional costs on the basis of a new subsidy program from the State Agricultural Intervention Fund, “says Josef Králíček, head of the Czech Potato Union, adding that the successful program requested by 106
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