A long-term trend of falling numbers of pigs and pig farmers has been exacerbated recently by steep increases in the prices of cereals, which have almost doubled since last year. On Oct. 3 the AKČR sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture (MZe) calling for the introduction of bridging loans for pig farmers and a simplification of the price structure for all industry-related products.

Pork production has traditionally been a strategic sector in the Czech Republic. It now amounts to about one-quarter of all livestock production and about 10 percent of agricultural production. In 1990, there were about 4,790,000 pigs in the Czech Republic and the country was self-sufficient in pork. Over the last seven years the number has decreased by 870,000 to 1,816,000 animals.

"The highest expenses are feeds made from expensive cereals," said Jan Veleba, AKČR’s president. He also said that many of the original 15 European Union member states, including Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Germany, had not abided by EU quotas and were constantly increasing production, causing an oversupply in the whole EU market.