Slovak poultry farms lack EU aid, losing competitiveness: union director

Slovakian poultry farms are not in the European Union's (EU) assistance system and this leads to a drop of competitiveness of Slovak food production, announced Slovakia's poultry union director Daniel Molnar on Monday.

"Farmers in some EU countries face a significantly lower tax rate than other sectors of the economy, or alternatively benefit from tax or contribution relief, which amounts to indirect subsidies for agricultural production. What this means for us is a lower level of competitiveness on the EU's free market and higher production costs," stressed Molnar.

Molnar called for increased checks on the illegal sale of unlabelled poultry of dubious origin. The union also proposed that only foodstuffs produced in Slovakia should be consumed in the dining halls of state authorities, municipalities and schools. Poultry breeding would also benefit from a greater deal of support from consumers.

"Consumers should be motivated to have more trust in Slovak foodstuffs and Slovak poultry, and to purchase those first. This is the only way towards increasing the share of Slovak foodstuffs and poultry on store shelves. Breeders are able to maintain higher quality and safety vis-a-vis their products," added Molnar.

A total of 1,316 people work in the Slovak poultry processing sector, with their numbers shrinking consistently over the past few years. Endit