Slovakia is lagging significantly behind the rest of Europe in terms of food self-sufficiency, occupying last place within the whole EU28, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek stated on Tuesday at an international conference organised by the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK).
“We're probably the only country in the world that used to have a food industry 25 years ago with food production set in a way that enabled us to export 30 percent of our production while meeting the needs of the domestic market. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, and our food self-sufficiency in 2012 stood at 46 percent,” noted Jahnátek. The minister went on to pinpoint the potential causes behind this unfavourable situation. “On one hand, there were reasons associated with Slovakia's economic transformation. In addition, even though the Slovak agricultural production and food sector gradually managed to cope with these macroeconomic changes, in the end there was a final and decisive blow that brought the sector to its knees, namely the arrival of new practices in the sphere of food sales introduced by certain retail chains,” complained Jahnátek. Jahnátek specified that some retail chains operating in Slovakia run their business to the detriment of Slovak food producers and suppliers, profiting from high margins but providing poor customer service and low-quality products.
