Karel Tomšík

European Sugar Production and its Control in the World Market

The European sugar industry which mainly relies on sugar beet is unique with its production quotas, minimum beet price and trade mechanisms. This study aimed to outline and specify the current production structure of the sugar quota holder system in the European Union (EU) and to determine the competitiveness and level of concentration in the system which is operated by more than a hundred sugar factories owned by approximately fifty companies. The study reveals that EU quota holder system is highly concentrated in certain regions like Germany, France, Great Britain and The Netherlands regardless of sugar-producing destinations and individual factories and is controlled by the companies/alliances operating in these regions. The study also reveals that monopoly of these regions has created unfair competition in European sugar market.

Foreign trade in agricultural products in the Czech Republic

Th e article analyses trends in the territorial and commodity structure of the Czech foreign agrarian trade and aims to identify changes which have occurred during the last decade. Th e main emphasis has been put on the period after the accession to the EU. Primarily such changes are identifi ed, that occurred in the relation to the EU-Member States and to third countries. Th e results show that the value of agricultural exports and imports was growing during the surveyed period while the growth rate of agricultural exports was above the growth rate of agricultural imports. Agricultural exports increased from CZK 78 billion in 2005 to more than CZK 160 billion in 2013 and the imports rose from CZK 103 billion to more than CZK 184 billion in the same period. Th e territorial structure of the foreign agrarian trace is continuously concentrating on the EU-Single Market, both in terms of exports and imports. Exports of milk, milk products, cereals, beverages, food preparations, tobacco and tobacco manufactures, cereal preparations, food residues and waste, oilseeds, vegetable fats and oils, sugar and confectionery belong to the most important commodity aggregations. Th e share of proce- ssed products in the total exports increased and reached currently about 7%. Th e export - import coverage ratio reached a satisfactory trend as well. Although the Czech Republic does not have ideal conditions for the export-oriented agriculture, the country is able to gain comparative advantages, at least at the level of following aggregations: HS10, HS01, HS12, HS24, HS04, HS17, HS15, HS11, HS16, HS22, HS03 a HS13.