Q18 - Agricultural Policy; Food PolicyReturn

The coexistence of people and large carnivores, especially wolves, tend to have an adverse impact on regional sustainable development of ecosystems and rural areas, negatively influencing mainly traditional farming, sustainable tourism and other socioeconomic activities. Although the viewpoint on current situation is not quite clear from the conservative institutions' perspective, an increase in compensations and support of protective measures results in expenditure displacement instead of proper problem solution. The same displacement logic applies not only to livestock grazing subsidies in the open landscape but also to subsidies determined exclusively for the protection of the predator itself, the wolf. The paper aims to address the key impacts on cultivated landscape caused by a progressive spreading of the predator, focusing on the comprehensive perception of the issue as a whole while also using farming examples to highlight the main issues of gradual wolf spreading in the cultivated area. The research is based on the authors' monograph (2018) positively accepted by both politicians and specialists' community which promotes basis for further discussion across other interrelated sectors.

The article deals with the development of consumer prices in the Czech Republic in the context of food prices in the European Union and the World market. This article aims to identify consumer prices development in the market in the Czech Republic in relation to the development of consumer prices in the world market and the EU market. The paper is also analyzing the development of consumer prices in relation to individual commodities and products sold in Czech retail companies. The position of the most significant retail chains in Czech market is highlighted and price differences among individual retail chains are identified. In relation to the results it can be said: Prices on the Czech market very strongly correlate especially in relation to the EU market, a little bit lower (but still significant) correlation is existing in relation to the World market. Czech consumer price sensitivity is very strong - very flexible to changes in the price level on the market of the EU (cc more than 1%) and vice versa inelastic (cc 0,3%) with respect to changes in the price level on the World market. CR follows the general development price trends which exist in the EU market. In relation to particular commodity segments in CR we can say that food prices increased fastest in case of fruit and vegetables, oils and fats, dairy products, fish and seafood, poultry, beef and cereals and bakery products. In the Czech Republic there is no uniform price level between regions. On the one hand Czech retail market is very concentrated - a relatively small number of players control the character of the market - but compared to the European average we can say that the market is highly competitive (the result of this development is the fact that already several retail companies left the Czech market during the last several years), because none of the subjects clearly dominates on the market. Individual retail chains in their pricing policies more or less follow the same general price trends and tendencies which are similar to the price development of the domestic market and especially the EU market.

The aim of this paper is the evaluation of gross value added inequality in the field production businesses, including the definition of determinants that cause or eliminate the mentioned inequality. The fulfillment of this aim is based on the quantification and decomposition of the Gini coefficient and on quantification of random effects model. Panel data for the analysis were gained from the Creditinfo database and the State Agricultural Intervention Fund and represent the economic results of 140 field production companies from 2005-2010. Results of the paper document the inequality of gross value added, which is generated mainly by the differences in farm size and by different natural conditions, in which the firm farms. The inequality is eliminated mainly by income subsidies. Agri-environmental subsidies also eliminate the inequality but in less extent.

Agricultural trade in the case of all of the analyzed countries (the Visegrad group, or only V4) represents only a minor part of the merchandise trade. The overwhelming majority of agricultural trade - export as well as import - je conducted in relation to EU countries. V4 market is also important for all analyzed countries. The share V4 market in individual V4 countries merchandise trade performance is about one fifth. If we focus on the actual objective of the article, which is to identify the comparative advantages of agricultural trade of the V4 countries in the area of commodity structure and territorial structure in relation to "their own internal market" of the V4 group countries, the following may be stated. Within the scope of mutual trade competition (2010), Poland is of course in the best positions (it controls about one third of total exports realized within V4 market). Taking in consideration the mutual trade balance among individual countries - results are the following (2000 - 2010). Polish and Czech agrarian trade is able to reach positive trade balance in relation to V4 market on the other hand Hungarian and Slovakian agrarian trade is in deficit. If we focus further on the distribution of the comparative advantages within the scope of mutual trade of the V4 countries - then it may be stated that Poland clearly dominates. Hungarian export in relation to the market of the V4 countries is also able to gain comparative advantages in some years. However, Czech and Slovak agricultural trade as a whole profile themselves as uncompetitive within the whole area of the V4 countries. But it should be mentioned that despite of Czech and Slovak total agrarian trade is not competitive, individual its segments are able to reach comparative advantages especially at the bilateral level.

Czech food market is significantly influenced by EU market development. Food prices tend to converge to the long-term average of prices in the EU market and they copy EU price trends. The paper aims to identify the relationship between the development of prices in the global market and EU market. Another aim is to analyze the development of prices in the retail market in the Czech Republic and to identify the basic trends in selected food products. The article focuses primarily on the elasticity of selected foodstuff aggregations in relation to global prices development. There is also analyzed the impact of changes in rates of VAT from 10 % to 14 % on food prices in general and prices of selected products in selected retail companies. The results of analyzes show that Czech food market reacts sensitively to changes in food prices on global markets as well as on the EU market. It should be highlighted that the influence of EU market on Czech food price development is much higher than the influence of global market. The growth rate of VAT is not completely absorbed by traders and producers and the certain portion of VAT rate growth is transferred into final consumer prices.