Czech Republic: The House Committee supported the restriction of the sale of foreign food

The House Committee on Agriculture has supported the introduction of food quotas. From 2022, according to the proposal, 55 percent of Czech products would have to be in stores, and subsequently the ratio would grow by three percentage points per year until 2028, when it would be 73 percent. The proposal of Radim Fiala (SPD) passed the votes of YES, CSSD and SPD.

The quota should not apply to retail outlets with an area of ​​up to 400 square meters or to specialized outlets. The proposal includes a list of foods that should be covered by quotas. It is supposed to be products that can be grown in the Czech Republic. In many cases, however, the Czech Republic is not self-sufficient, for example cauliflower, broccoli, strawberries or pork.

The chairman of the Association of Private Agriculture of the Czech Republic Jaroslav Šebek said, it is a demonstration that common sense and respect for the rule of law did not prevail, but populism. That proposal, if passed, will be illegal, inconsistent with European principles, inconsistent with the market environment.

According to the Liberal Institute, the same problems remain with the proposal as with similar efforts by spring legislators.

Martin Pánek, director of the Liberal Institute said, we commented on a similar proposal in the spring. Similar ideas are against the law of the EU and the World Trade Organization, they will lead to more expensive food and its poorer quality, which will affect especially low-income groups, .

Both Panek and Sebek argued that the proposals according to experts contradicted Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU, which prohibits restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect. As we showed in our spring study, restricting free trade in food also creates big problems with food security, where poor harvests in our state will mean immediate huge problems with the availability of these foods that benefits of free food economists across the ideological spectrum agree on trade.

The committee approved the proposals as changes to the government's amendment to the Food Act. The exact definition of a specialized store is to be determined by the Ministry of Agriculture. The mentioned study of the Liberal Institute showed practical problems with how to determine what Czech food is.

Paradoxes of the obligatory share of Czech food. Brazzale cheeses made from Czech (Moravian) milk in the Czech Republic (Litovel) qualify as Czech food, even though no one takes them that way. And they are not so labeled. Coca-Cola produced in Prague-Kyje probably qualifies as Czech food, even though no one takes it that way. And it's not called that. Hams from the Krásno meat industry or other meat processing plants do not qualify as Czech food, because they are mostly made from foreign pork, and thus do not meet the weight criteria, even though they are like Czech gates. Even food produced in a Czech plant, even if sold under Lidl's private label (such as Kunín dairy cream or salads from Varmuža), would qualify as Czech products, even though they are not labeled as such and should not be perceived as such.

According to Šebek, the support of the proposal in the committee is proof that the Czech subsidy principles supporting large farmers are not set correctly, because they are not able to ensure the self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic in the main commodities.

Originally, some deputies, mainly from ANO and SPD, advocated that 55 percent of Czech food be sold on a mandatory basis in 2021, but by 2027 the share should rise to 85 percent. In addition, this option did not specify the foods to be covered by the Regulation, nor the area or focus of the outlets concerned.

Romania has come across a similar proposal in Brussels in the past. A few years ago, it ordered large retailers to buy at least 51 percent of food from local producers. Due to the threat of legal proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU, it preferred to repeal the provision this year.