According to Farmers Union of the Czech Republic chairman Martin Pýcha, companies focused on growing cereals and rapeseed prospered the most in 2011. Between the years 2004 and 2011, the prices of vegetable commodities increased by 18%, which, together with last year's record harvest, meant revenues from them of more than CZK 40 bln. According to Pýcha, the increase in revenues was supported by cereals and rapeseed, whereas, for instance, producers of hops and potatoes were unable to post profits due to low prices and did not even harvest some of their crops. According to him, this will be reflected in the decreased production of these crops this year. In the case of animal products, the 2011 prices were 0.5% lower than the prices in 2004, and from a long-term perspective the highest decrease was recorded in the case of slaughtered pigs. With regard to production development since 2004, Pýcha states a 30% decrease in pork production and a 25% decrease in beef and veal production. According to him, this is also the reason why the revenues of agricultural primary producers were CZK 20 bln lower in the last three years compared to 1998.
According to the MZe, one can expect a decrease in producer prices in the agricultural sector in 2012, roughly to the same level of support as last year, and an increase in their costs, mainly regarding energy. Therefore, the Ministry is expecting lower profitability of agriculture this year unless there are more significant changes in agricultural companies' production efficiency, where total costs grew 4% in 2011. According to Pýcha, one can expect a decrease in domestic agricultural production and an increase in the agricultural foreign trade deficit. According to him, it is particularly of key importance to prevent a decrease in the number of employees in the sector and in the number of entities in agricultural primary production.
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