República Checa: Czech industry groups plan to revive potato output

In order to reverse the trend, the Czech Agrarian Chamber and the Czech Potato Association are to jointly prepare a White Book of recommendations on how to boost potato output for the Ministry of Agriculture. The document should be ready by summer.

The chairman of the Czech Potato Association, Milan Chlan, told journalists that growers were calling for the introduction of a marketing fund to support Czech-grown spuds, alongside increased financial backing for the renovation of irrigation systems.

Drought caused domestic potato production to fall by over a quarter last year.

Around 28,500 hectares of land were given over to potato cultivation in that period, a year-on-year area decline of 4.5 percent.

Mr. Chlan said the suggested marketing fund, which would be half funded by the state, would primarily focus on convincing Czech consumers of the quality of homegrown potatoes.

The industry chief pointed across the border to Austria, where the equivalent of CZK 1.35 billion is used to market domestically produced potatoes annually. And with some success: 90 percent of the spuds sold in the country are grown in Austria.

While production was down last year, prices were up, easing the impact on farmers.

The entire Central Europe region saw a decline in output. Production in Western states such as Germany, France and the Low Countries reached average levels. Most of the potatoes imported into the Czech Republic come from Germany, where prices are similar.

The Ministry of Education has previously said that compensation for farmers – including potato growers – over last year’s drought will be a matter for the entire government.

The Czech Potato Association says it appears likely that growers whose revenues fell by over 30 percent in comparison with their output over the previous five-year period will be eligible for compensation.