Slovak market deluged with food from abroad

Slovakia has never before now seen such a massive flooding of the market with agricultural and food products from abroad, said Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) spokesperson Jana Holéciová on Tuesday. She pointed to a €1.648-billion deficit in the foreign-trade balance with agricultural and food products as recorded by the Statistics Office for 2018, stating that the deficit swelled by 19.3 percent year-on-year. As for individual sectors: deficits were up by 8.3 percent y-o-y in animal products; by 18.4 percent in food, beverages and tobacco; and by a giant 161.4 percent in plant products. The deficit shrank only in fats and oils by 6.2 percent y-o-y. Holéciová added that the share on the shelves of foreign bread, baked goods and mineral water, for example, also increased last year.