According to last year’s survey by the European Food Safety Authority, the main criterion remains the price of 62 percent of consumers in the Czech Republic when buying food.
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A survey by the Czech technology company Seznam.cz shows that a quarter of the respondents grow more fruit and vegetables this year than last year. This year, almost half of the respondents have already done this activity or are still planning to do so. And no wonder.
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Fruits and vegetables are significantly more expensive. This was confirmed for the News List by a purchasing advisor and a special price comparator Kupi.cz. As well as cultivation, the popularity of canning also grows. People therefore also according to the data of the purchasing advisor Zboží.cz they more often look for products intended for canning.
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Czechs have a great interest in gardening. More than half of the respondents grow fruit and vegetables at home, and it is definitely not just a hobby for older generations. Of the total number of respondents, 26 percent of people even grow more fruit and vegetables this year than last year.
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And why is the price of fruit and vegetables rising? “Given that most fruits and vegetables sold in the Czech Republic are imported from abroad, pricing is not in the hands of our growers, but depends on prices in the countries from which fruits and vegetables are imported to the Czech Republic,” explained agrarian analyst Petr Havel.
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According to him, this also explains why the prices of fruit and vegetables fluctuate so significantly, even by tens of percent per week. It depends on where the products are imported, how much they cost at harvest, or whether they come from stocks. However, poorer border permeability for both goods and seasonal workers may also have an impact, as is the case with the covid pandemic.
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“Prices seem to continue to rise due to ever-increasing bureaucracy and regulations,” Havel said.
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The solution to slow down the growth of prices is the purchase of seasonal fruits and vegetables from Czech growers, advises Jiří Sedláček, chairman of the Association of Farmers’ Markets of the Czech Republic.
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According to him, it is not at all easy for them to apply on the Czech market. For most of them, farmers’ markets are the only way to sell. “For 80 percent of our retailers, farmers’ markets are a single sales channel, a single point of sale for their products, and therefore a key place to live. The spring closure of farmers’ markets for some meant the need to reduce production, “added Sedláček.
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Fruits and vegetables are increasingly grown in flats
Growers can be found not only in the village, where three quarters of the population grows it, but often also among the inhabitants of large cities. “There is a clear trend where people engage in this activity, for example, in apartments and not only in their own gardens,” says Darek Pikálek, marketing and user researcher Seznam.cz.
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If we look at the fruits and vegetables that are commonly cooked, then it is clear that cultivation is worthwhile. Even if we want to buy fruit and vegetables at discounts at promotions, the price increase is significant. “In the year-on-year comparison of special prices in the period from August to September, for example, the average special price of raspberries was CZK 34.40, which is 22 percent more than last year.
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The rise in prices was also for peaches. While last year a kilogram in action cost CZK 24.70, this year we will give about 40 percent more for it. The increase in blueberries did not escape the rise either. Last year, a pound was worth CZK 74.90, and this year we will even pay a quarter more for them, ”illustrates the growth of prices at Petr Miklík, analyst of retail prices at Kupi.cz. According to him, such apricots or cucumbers did not appear in action this year at all.
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There is a growing interest of people in products intended for canning
As well as growing fruits and vegetables, their canning is also very popular in the Czech Republic. This year, almost half of the respondents have already done this activity or are still planning to do so. Although it is more common among people from small communities, it also cooks more people from large cities.
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“Due to rising fruit and vegetable prices, people started gardening more, and therefore also potting. Since May of this year, we have been observing an increased interest in jars and other jars on the shopping advisor and comparator Zboží.cz. In the year-on-year comparison of the period starting in June this year, about a fifth of more people are interested in them, “says Jan Kriegel, manager of the purchasing advisor Zboží.cz.
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