Th e article analyses trends in the territorial and commodity structure of the Czech foreign agrarian trade and aims to identify changes which have occurred during the last decade. Th e main emphasis has been put on the period after the accession to the EU. Primarily such changes are identifi ed, that occurred in the relation to the EU-Member States and to third countries. Th e results show that the value of agricultural exports and imports was growing during the surveyed period while the growth rate of agricultural exports was above the growth rate of agricultural imports. Agricultural exports increased from CZK 78 billion in 2005 to more than CZK 160 billion in 2013 and the imports rose from CZK 103 billion to more than CZK 184 billion in the same period. Th e territorial structure of the foreign agrarian trace is continuously concentrating on the EU-Single Market, both in terms of exports and imports. Exports of milk, milk products, cereals, beverages, food preparations, tobacco and tobacco manufactures, cereal preparations, food residues and waste, oilseeds, vegetable fats and oils, sugar and confectionery belong to the most important commodity aggregations. Th e share of processed products in the total exports increased and reached currently about 7%. Th e export -import coverage ratio reached a satisfactory trend as well. Although the Czech Republic does not have ideal conditions for the export-oriented agriculture, the country is able to gain comparative advantages, at least at the level of following aggregations: HS10, HS01, HS12, HS24, HS04, HS17, HS15, HS11, HS16, HS22, HS03 a HS13.

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Th e paper analyses the current position of the Russian Federation in the global market of agricultural products and foodstuff s with the accent on the comparative advantage of Russian agricultural exports in relation to specifi c regions and states. Th e key purpose of the research is to classify the most signifi cant changes in the structure of Russian agricultural exports. Th e results show that the structure of Russian trade is changing continuously and evolving along with the process of economic transformation and trade liberalization. Exports become less diversifi ed and are concentrated in a few segments. From the perspective of comparative advantage, cereals, fi sh and vegetable oils are the segments of Russian exports which become more signifi cant. Th e comparative advantages of Russian exports are strengthening mostly in the case of African, Asian and CIS countries.

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Wild mushroom foraging has a long tradition in Central European countries. Protein from wild mushrooms is an important part of Central European diets and has served historically as a meat protein substitute. In view of climate change, this protein source may become scarce. This study investigated the effects of temperature and precipitation on wild mushrooms using the Dickey–Fuller test and ordinary least squares method. The results from the Czech Republic show that when the precipitation change was increased by one unit, the change in the amount of foraged mushrooms went up by twenty-seven tons, while the factor of temperature was found to be statistically insignificant. This indicates that with a decline in precipitation, possibly due to climate change, there will be a decline in the amount of wild mushrooms foraged.

The European agricultural market has been criticized for its heavy regulations and subsidization. The sugar market is one of the most regulated ones; however, this will change radically in 2017 when the current system of production quotas will end. The aim of this paper is to present the basic characteristics of the EU quota sugar market. The analysis identifi es the main drivers of EU sugar market and their position within the EU sugar market. The paper identifi es especially those drivers/ companies/alliances which take control over the EU sugar production realized under the quota production system. The paper also highlights the level of EU sugar market concentration and also identifi es those countries and companies which are the main leaders in the sugar production area realized under the quota system. Based on the results deriving from the paper, it is possible to characterize the EU sugar market as a heavily concentrated one -nearly 75% (10 mil. tonnes) of the quota is controlled by fi ve multinational companies only; these companies are operating more than 50% of all the available sugar plants located in the EU. These multinational alliances are also in control of the production capacities of their subsidiaries. In most countries, this causes serious problems as the given quota is controlled by one or two producers only. The EU sugar market is extremely concentrated especially if we take into consideration the location of each alliance's headquarters. The majority of production capacities are under (the) control of especially German and French companies. These two countries are also the main benefi ciaries in relation to the EU sugar production quota system.

Finnish agriculture changed radically with the EU joining in 1995. The commitment of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) led to unprecedented changes in economic environment -in agriculture as in processing industry. Finland lost the possibility to regulate the original price level of agricultural products supported by the national border protection and export subsidies. Prices guaranteed by the EU are much lower today than before the EU-membership. Recently, Finland has evaluated ten years being an EU member. Despite its competitive disadvantage, given mostly by unfavourable production conditions, Finnish agriculture has not lost within the competitive environment of the single market and it has tried to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the CAP. The article recapitulates the ten year effort of Finnish agriculture to ensure the competitiveness within the EU single market. Key words: competitiveness, Common Agricultural Policy, single market, European UnionAbstrakt: Finské zemědělství prodělalo vstupem do EU v roce 1995 radikální změnu. Zavedení pravidel společné zeměděl-ské politiky vedlo k bezprecedentním změnám v ekonomickém prostředí jak zemědělství, tak zpracovatelského průmyslu. Finsko pozbylo možnosti regulovat nadále původní cenovou úroveň zemědělských produktů pomocí vlastních ochranář-ských opatření a exportních subvencí. Garantované ceny EU jsou dnes na mnohem nižší úrovni, než byly ceny před vstupem do EU. V nedávné době Finsko hodnotilo deset let v EU. I přes konkurenční nevýhody, dané zejména nepříznivými výrobními podmínkami, se finské zemědělství v konkurenčním prostředí vnitřního trhu EU neztratilo a Finsko se snažilo využít příležitosti, které společná zemědělská politika nabízí. Článek rekapituluje desetiletou snahu finského zemědělství o zabezpečení konkurenceschopnosti v rámci vnitřního trhu EU.

Wild mushroom foraging has a long tradition, especially in the region of Central Europe. Wild mushrooms are a valuable food resource, as they provide nutritional benefits to the European population. They offer a relatively high content of protein and are traditionally used in many European cuisines as a substitute for meat. This is particularly true in times of crisis, such as wars and pandemics. The study presented in this paper shows that wild mushrooms can substitute around 0.2 percent of daily protein intake and contribute around 3% to the agricultural output of the Czech economy, which was selected as a representative for Central Europe. The calculated real price of wild mushrooms indicates their increasing popularity as a source of food protein in Central Europe, while their price seems to be independent of the quantity supplied.