February 9, 2011

Czech Republic's cattle & pigs decline, poultry increases

Czech Republic's cattle and pig figures hit record lows, decreasing to 1.32 million and 1.84 million respectively, while the country's poultry numbers increased slightly to 24 million.

Pig numbers in the Czech Republic decreased by 3.5% on-year to 1.84 million last year, the lowest figure since 1946, according to data of the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), reports Prague Monitor. Cattle numbers fell by 2.7% to 1.32 million, the lowest figure since the early 1920s. Poultry numbers, on the other hand, increased by 0.5% to 24 million.

Farmers have been warning for several years that pig breeding is loss-making and that they cannot compete with cheap imports of pork from abroad. In 1999, pigs numbers over four million.

According to the Agricultural Chamber, the Czech Republic's self-sufficiency in pork production will drop below 50% this year.

Agriculture Minister, Ivan Fuksa, said on television on February 6 that he wanted to increase support to pig breeders using several hundred million crowns (CZK) from a package of CZK800 million (US$45.44) that the ministry has earmarked for support of sensitive commodities.

Cow numbers fell by 2.5% to 542,000 by the end of 2010, of which the number of suckler cows fell by 3.3% to almost 167,000 head. The current cattle numbers in the Czech Republic are 60% lower than 20 years ago and milk production is also falling.