The years the Czech Republic spent in the EU deprived the country of its food independence: EADaily

The self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic in food does not allow the country to talk about food security. Representatives of the Czech Agricultural Union announced this at a press conference.

According to their information, self-sufficiency in vegetable production between 1992 and 2020 decreased from 67 to 31%. Self-sufficiency in pork and poultry production is also declining, which increases the need for food imports. Union leader Martin Peha they noted that Czech farmers could produce their own pork or poultry, which would reduce the carbon footprint of food imports from abroad.

“Until about 1989, we were completely self-sufficient in pork production. Now the country is only 46% self-sufficient, although our farmers can do more, and the quality of their pork is recognized worldwide. It doesn’t make sense to import pork from Spain and chickens from Brazil when we can produce these products ourselves.” – he said.

In addition, it was noted that the level of food imports into the Czech Republic has been increasing, except for small fluctuations since the 1990s. For example, last year the Czech Republic imported 61.6 million kg of apples, 60 million kg of onions, 281 million kg of pork and 120 million kg of poultry. Pykha explains the high level of imports and the decrease in self-sufficiency with unequal conditions for producers in the EU and how consumers lead to low prices.

Let’s remember that the Czech Republic has been a member of the EU since 2004. Within the framework of the union, the country is obliged to comply with several standards that limit the development of the complex agro-industry.