Czech industry groups plan to revive potato output

In recent years potato production in the Czech Republic has been declining; while over 1.5 million tonnes of the tuber were produced in 2005/2006, the figure has now fallen to 604,000 tonnes. 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. More