Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2006, 52(7):321-327 | DOI: 10.17221/5029-AGRICECON

The possibilities of organic food market's development in the Czech Republic

I. Živělová, J. Jánský

Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic

The consumption of the organic food in the Czech Republic is, in spite of its permanent growth, still on a very low level. The reasons are both on the side of supply and demand of organic food. The reasons on the side of the supply are especially the insufficient amount and the structure of the organic products. Demand is not met especially in the case of the livestock products, further also in the fruits, vegetables, bread, pastry and others. The lack of the organic food is solved by imports. The important factor is also the lack of the processing capacities, especially for meat and dairy products. The sale is provided under the way of short-term contracts. The prices that the organic farmers get for their products fall short of the quality of products. The main distribution channels are the supermarkets. The organic products are here, however, only the marginal products. For the increase of the supply, the advertising and advertisement should be intensified. The demand is obstructed especially by the low consumer awareness, while the consumers are not sufficiently familiar with the quality of the organic products and are not willing to pay higher price for the higher quality of foodstuff.

Keywords: organic agriculture, organic market, consumption of organic food, supply for organic food, demand for organic food

Published: July 31, 2006  Show citation