The aim of the paper is to evaluate the development and main characteristics of Czech milk production productivity and to compare Czech development with the situation in the European Union. From a methodological point of view, a parametric approach in the form of stochastic frontier analysis was applied, the input distance function was estimated, and total factor productivity was examined. The analysis used an unbalanced panel data set, which describes TF14-45 specialist milk production from 27 member states of the European Union in the period 2004-2016 collected in the FADN database. The results showed that in the Czech Republic, the average value of technical efficiency was 94.01% during the analysed time period. Compared to EU member states, this figure was above the EU-13 average (93.71%). Czech milk production in the analysed period and the milk production of almost all other EU countries was characterized by increasing returns to scale. Examination of total factor productivity (TFP) showed that the scale effect and technical efficiency change effect can be considered the main components of TFP changes in Czech milk production. However, the scale effect was more significant in EU-15 countries than the Czech milk sector.

The question of the sources of agricultural competitiveness is widely discussed on the farm and sectoral levels in the European Union. This paper assesses the competitiveness of the plant production using the combination of trade measures and strategic management measures in the selected European countries related to the Czech Republic. Thus, the paper evaluates and identifies the sources of competitiveness of plant production. In the case of Belgium and the Netherlands, labour and capital factors have a significant influence on production; in the case of the new member states, these factors are less important, and, conversely, market competitiveness factors are more crucial. The continuous convergence process between Belgium and the Netherlands is illustrated. The divergence between the Netherlands and the rest of the countries is also visible. There is a stable connection between the Czech Republic and Austria, France, and Slovakia. It can be mentioned that there is no statistically significant difference in the comparative advantage between 2005 and 2019, except in the case of France. Analysing sources of competitiveness among the countries of interest is a possible tool for the future direction of trade policies.

The paper, based on RCA, LFI and GL indices, and logistic regression analysis, allowed us to track the dynamics of the comparative advantage/disadvantage of the Czech Republic in individual commodity aggregates in relation to individual EU partners, and to comprehend the role of the main production factors. The only production factor with a statistically significant effect is capital. Trade with countries richly endowed with agricultural land and capital, in most cases, appeared not favorable for the Czech Republic in terms of having a comparative advantage over them, if measured with LFI index. The values of the GL index disclosed that trade with these countries is mostly of an inter-industry character. The analysis revealed the following top-3 mostly competitive Czech aggregates: S3-08 (animal feed stuff), S3-06 (sugar and sugar preparations), along with S3-04 (cereals and cereal preparations). Some aggregates appeared to not have any comparative advantage: S3-01 (meat, meat preparations), S3-05 (vegetables and fruits), and S3-41 (animal oils and fats). Speaking of developmental trends, from 2000 to 2019 the Czech Republic has managed to improve its position in agri-food trade within the EU-27 by 43.81% if measured with LFI, and by 51.63% if measured with RCA. These positive changes also appeared to be statistically significant.

RUMÁNKOVÁ LENKA, SMUTKA LUBOŠ: Global sugar market -the analysis of factors infl uencing supply and demand. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 2013, LXI, No. 2, pp. 463-471 This article deals with an analysis of the world sugar market, and specifi cally focuses on the supply and demand of refi ned sugar and their main determinants. The article fi rst identifi es the main determinants of the world supply of and demand for sugar, and further, their eff ect on such variables is quantifi ed. Further, the component correlations on the selected market are analyzed. This consists of the identifi cation of the factors aff ecting the production of refi ned sugar, as one of the main elements of the supply of sugar, as well as an analysis of the world price of sugar, as one of the signifi cant factors aff ecting the world sugar market. The said correlations are quantifi ed with the utilization of regression analysis on the basis of time series of the individual variables within the years 1980-2010. On the basis of the conducted analysis, the main determinants of the sugar supply on the world market within the analyzed period, for which an eff ect has been established both from an economic viewpoint, as well as from a statistical viewpoint, can be considered to be sugar reserves, its price and the acreage of sugarcane. The main determinant of the demand for sugar is, according to the conducted analysis, the global GDP on a new value level, as well as converted to one inhabitant. Further, the analysis also established the eff ect of the price of sugar and its reserves on the world production of refi ned sugar, and, last but not least, also the long-term tendency in the development of the world price of sugar. The analysis has proven signifi cant infl uence of refi ned sugar supply, reserves of refi ned sugar, its price and area of sugar cane on sugar supply. Then, the analysis detected GDP as the main determinant of the sugar demand and the long memory in sugar prices. Finally, the infl uence of delayed price, reserves and delayed reserves on production has been proven.

The paper deals with the analysis of selected profitability indicators of Czech agricultural businesses of legal entities and their subcomponents, based on DuPont analysis. The effect of asset turnover ratio, net profit margin ratio and equity multiplier on the value of return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) is studied in relation to the legal form and size group. The analysis of the effect of sub-indicators is performed by way of a correlation analysis. Furthermore, the assumption about the influence of sub-components indicators on synthetic profitability ratios is verified. The panel data set we used was obtained from the Amadeus database. The analytical section is based upon accounting statements of agricultural businesses of legal entities in the Czech Republic within the period of 2011-2015. The analysis is based on the calculated values of ROA and ROE, including partial values of the sub-components indicator, by using DuPont analysis. The differences between the groups of businesses are tested through correlation analysis and subsequently evaluated with respect to the specifics of each group. The object of examination was more than 3000 companies annually, on average. The evaluated companies were divided, in terms of legal form, into joint-stock companies, cooperatives and limited liability companies, and in terms of size structure into small, medium and large businesses.

This paper deals with a description of the most important livestock agri-food chains in the Czech Republic and an evaluation of their vertical price transmission. The paper examines the pork, beef, poultry, and milk agri-food chains generally from May 2004 to June 2011. The time series of selected variables contain biweekly, monthly or annual data and, according to data availability, contain a different number of observations within the selected period. The first part of the paper is focused on a descriptive analysis of the selected agri-food chains. Long-term developments and short-term fluctuations in production, supply and consumption, being the main factors which influence price level, are examined in particular. The second part of the paper is focused on vertical price transmission in the selected agri-food chains; specifically, the relationship between farm-gate price and wholesale price is examined and explained. For this purpose multivariate time series analysis is employed, namely the VAR and VECM models. Based on the empirical analysis, it could be concluded that the assumed long-term relationship was not confirmed for all analyzed agri-food chains. On the other hand, imperfect competition was confirmed; even its form may differ among the analyzed agri-food chains. However, generally speaking, one could say that wholesalers have a stronger position than farmers.

The study identifies the main beer consumption determinants in the Czech Republic and quantifies their influence on the beer consumption. The analysis covers three areas – identification of the main determinants of Czech beer consumption, quantification of the influence of these factors on beer consumption, and examination of beer consumption forecasting possibilities. Time series of selected variables containing annual data of the 1994–2014 period are analysed. The main determinants are defined in accord with the general economic theory, their influence is measured using an econometric model, and quality of the model for prognostic purposes is verified using an ex-post prognosis. Based on empirical analysis, the price of lager beer, income, and influence of financial crisis were determined as the main determinants of Czech beer consumption. In addition, inelastic reaction of beer consumption on their changes was proven. The estimated model may be considered suitable for prognostic purposes. The Czech beer market and/or beer consumption in the examined period can be considered as specific, but stable.

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