September 6, 2012
Czech Republic's poultry, egg and pork self-sufficiency in continual decline
The Czech Republic's Agriculture Chamber warns that the country's food self-sufficiency has been declining since 1989 as food prices are expected to rise and agricultural firms likely to collapse after 2012's harvest.
The biggest drop in self-sufficiency was registered in the production of poultry, eggs and pork. Self-sufficiency in fruit, vegetables and potatoes also decreased, according to Agriculture Chamber president, Jan Veleba.
Current poultry numbers correspond to the level of production in the 1960s. The biggest fall of 24% was last year registered for the number of chickens. Total poultry numbers decreased by 14.5%.
The number of hens is the lowest in history. Imports of hens rose by 16.8%. Hens were imported mainly from Poland in 2011, followed by Brazil, Slovakia and Germany.
The level of self-sufficiency in poultry dropped by 6.1 percentage points to 78.8%.
