Mlékárenský průmysl v Evropské unii: Skupinové shlukování zemí v období před a po zrušení mléčných kvót

The European Union dairy processing sector has an important position and role in processing food and drinks in EU28 concerning the share of turnover, value-added, and employment. Its products belong to the most imported and exported items, mainly in EU countries. The article aims to evaluate the competitiveness of the EU milk market with respect to pre- and post-milk quota elimination periods. In addition, the paper identifies similar characteristics of the EU dairy sector, including milk production and processing. Eurostat and FAOstat data from 2008-2018 were used. Based on the clustering of k means, five groups of EU countries were distinguished. The clustering analysis reveals that the post-communist EU member states are characterised by similar levels of dairy processing industry characteristics. In addition, the article shows that the competitiveness of the dairy processing industry is higher in the old EU member states (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The results indicate that the abolishment of the milk quota has not induced visible changes in the clustering of characteristics of the dairy processing industry in EU countries.Odvětví zpracování mléka v Evropské unii má důležitou pozici a roli v odvětví zpracování potravin a nápojů v EU28, pokud jde o podíl na obratu, přidané hodnotě a zaměstnanosti. Mléčné výrobky patří k nejvíce dováženým a vyváženým položkám, převážně v zemích EU. Příspěvek si klade za cíl identifikovat skupinu zemí EU, které se vyznačují podobnými charakteristikami mléčného zpracovatelského průmyslu, a posoudit rozdíly mezi klastry pro období před a po zrušení mléčných kvót. Dále je charakterizován mlékárenský sektor, včetně výroby a zpracování mléka. Ke zpracování byla využita data Eurostatu a Faostatu v letech 2008-2018. Na základě shlukování k-means bylo nalezeno pět skupin zemí EU. Shluková analýza odhaluje, že postkomunistické členské státy EU se vyznačují podobné charakteristiky mlékárenského průmyslu. Rovněž bylo zjištěno, že úroveň konkurenceschopnosti mlékárenského průmyslu je vyšší ve starých členských zemích EU (Belgie, Německo, Irsko, Řecko, Španělsko, Francie, Itálie, Lucembursko, Holandsko, Rakousko, Portugalsko, Finsko, Švédsko a Spojené království). Výsledky naznačují, že zrušení mléčných kvót nezpůsobilo viditelné změny ve shlukování charakteristik mlékárenského průmyslu v zemích EU

Subsidies of the Czech Food Sector in a Context of the European Funds and Their Impact

Dissertation deals with the food industry. First, the economy of the sector in the branch structure and size of businesses is evaluated. The main attention is paid to the drawing subsidies by the food industry in the context of EU funds. The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the effect of the subsidies on the economy of the food business. For the analysis fixed effect model was used. According to the results, there are significant differences in the impact of subsidies on the individual branches of the food industry. In most fields was demonstrated their ineffective use to increase business performance

Differences in the Economic Situation of Organic and Conventional Winemaking Enterprises

The number of organic farms in the Czech Republic is increasing as well as the number of organic winemaking enterprises. The article deals with an evaluation and comparison of the economic situation of organic and conventional winemaking enterprises in the Czech Republic. An economic analysis of the 75 enterprises accounting data from 2007 to 2011 has been done. The financial analysis indicators, bankruptcy models, efficiency indicator and performance indicators were calculated. In order to compare the values of the respective indicators the t-test was used. The performed analysis confirmed a better economic situation of organic winemaking enterprises. Winemaking businesses – whether organic or conventional – are capable of a good financial management and generate profit even without the aid of any subsidies. This article was created as a part of IGA 20141046 project

Factors Influencing Technical Efficiency in the EU Dairy Farms

This paper aims to analyse the technical efficiency (TE) of dairy farms and find its determinants. To accomplish this problem, the Stochastic Frontier Analysis was applied. The data were obtained from the Farm Accountancy Data Network database for dairy farms (TF15-45—Specialist dairying) for 2004–2019. Dairy farms were divided into four clusters according to their physical size (number of livestock units per farm) and economic size (standard output per farm). The largest farms by physical and economic size are located in Denmark and Cyprus. The smallest, in comparison, are in Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. Farms in the EU are relatively technically efficient, i.e., they use their resources efficiently to produce maximum output (production). However, they have the potential to achieve better economic results and be more competitive, as the size of farms’ is not fully optimised. The abolition of the milk quota can be considered a factor in improving technical efficiency, as the indicator is higher after the abolition. New and old member states have almost comparable technical efficiency levels (the p-value of the t-test is 0.463), with old members having slightly higher level TE. Subsidies have contradictory effects on TE. Farm efficiency with higher subsidies per cow is higher for farms with €51–100/cow. However, as subsidies increase, TE decreases. Only the group of farms with the highest subsidies has a higher TE. More diversified farms are more technically efficient than specialised farms. Milk yield did not influence the analysed indicator. The analysis results can serve the stakeholders as a tool for modelling future agricultural policy, as the European farms are very heterogenous and show different conditions and economic outcomes

Position of the Bakery Enterprises in the Czech Republic According to Detailed Specification of the Businesses

Bakery industry is one of the key sectors within the production of food products; however, there is a decrease of staff and lack of interest in studying or doing business in this branch, which is consistent with below‑average wage. Very low labour productivity associated with labour intensity and a low economic performance of the industry is also characteristic. This article aims to identify whether those unfavourably evolving characteristics are common to the entire industry, or relate only to specific types of businesses and if they differ significantly among these companies. The existence of companies with similar characteristics will be verified based on cluster analysis which will define the key players on the Czech market with bakery and confectionery products. The results show that there were statistically significant differences in most of the evaluated indicators among the companies producing bakery when we classify the companies according to their size, ownership and use of grant funds. According to the cluster analysis, two key players that represent a threat for other groups of companies were identified on the market. In the risk there is mainly a group of micro and small enterprises with family ownership, whose economic position is weak, even if it represents the largest category. Therefore, more attention should be paid to this group of enterprises and focus on their development and access to finance for the development of their business

Structural changes in agriculture since EU accession in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary

The collaboration that has led to the publication of this book can be traced back to April 2013, when the Research Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (VÚEPP) in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, approached the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) in Budapest, Hungary, with a view to establishing a programme of bilateral cooperation. The approach was very positively received by AKI, and the idea rapidly developed into a plan for a series of trilateral cooperation activities that also included the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI) in Praha, Czech Republic. Representatives of the three institutes met in Budapest at the end of May, 2013 and agreed to work together to enhance mutual research collaboration in the field of agricultural economics, share information and discuss issues related to agricultural economics in the three countries, and establish a coordination group composed by members of the three research institutes. The cooperation was formalised through the signing, in December 2013, of a trilateral Agreement covering the period 2014-2016 covering the following topics: (a) publication of individual or common papers in the institutes’ journals or other journals, and exchange of journals between institutes; (b) exchange of experience via trilateral meetings of specialists; (c) cooperation with other scientific entities and support for affiliation to international networks or construction of a specific network in the institutes’ common field of research interest; (d) applications and participation in common international projects; and (e) participation at international meetings with common research/papers and cooperation in organisation of different international meetings. The three institutes agreed that this would be an excellent way to better disseminate, nationally and internationally, the results of their research work and to open new perspectives to future mutual cooperation. The centrepiece of the programme of cooperation was a trilateral research project entitled “The CAP Impact on the Effectiveness of Use of Agricultural Production Factors and the Economic Efficiency of Agricultural Production and Product Sectors in the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary”. The general objective of this project has been: research on rural areas and the agrifood sector by sectoral analysis, country comparisons, identification of positive and negative influences on the rural and agricultural economy, dissemination of research results, and proposals for future policies in the field. Initially intended to cover four topics (implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), agricultural land ownership and related issues, competitiveness and profitability of crop and animal production, and the efficiency of food industry production), further discussion led to eight topics of joint research being agreed