[Article] Butter Shortages in Slovakia a sign of Free-Trade at its best :)

gom

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Enlargement promts Slovak butter shortage
09.07.2004 - 09:56 CET | By Mark Beunderman

For the Slovaks, joining the EU has caused an unforeseen reminder of communist times: a shortage of butter.

German press agency DPA reports that for a few days now, consumers can hardly find any butter in their supermarkets.

According to traders in dairy products on Thursday (9 July), the dismantling of trade barriers after EU accession has meant that Slovak dairy producers export almost all of their products to neighbouring countries - where they can get much higher prices.

Several big Slovak supermarkets have fully suspended the selling of butter and have replaced it with margarine.

In other stores, butter is generally sold out before midday.
Consumers complain that "not even in communist times was there such a shortage", according to Austrian paper Die Presse.

EU butter market in upheaval
A recovery in the provision of butter in Slovakia is not expected before consumer prices rise by up to 25%, traders say.

Currently, 250 grams of butter cost less than one euro in Slovakia.

However, the Hungarians seem to be profiting from the Slovak producers' entrepreneurship.

Die Presse reports that in Hungary butter prices have dropped by one third after enlargement - because of imports from Slovakia.

For the Hungarians, butter imports from Slovakia have compensated for shortages in their country, as Hungarian producers have preferred the Italian market since EU enlargement.

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© EUobserver.com 2004
Printed from EUobserver.com 09.07.2004

Don't you think its a smashingly simple example of how Free Trade works and benefits those. It also highlights the wonders of the Invisible Hand of the Market. All that Slovakia needs to do now is find a country to import butter from.

Meh

Originally posted by gom
Don't you think its a smashingly simple example of how Free Trade works and benefits those. It also highlights the wonders of the Invisible Hand of the Market.

Agricultural products in the EU are a smashingly simple example of unfree trade. Ever heard of the CAP?

mike65

Let them eat poly-unstaturated marg! Guess if Supermarkets paid better prices they'd get the produce or is the milk being exported directly and not to processors?

http://www.hnonline.sk/index.php?p=k00000_print&article%5Bid%5D=21953165&article%5Barea_id%5D=10040480

Bringing Prices of Dairy Product to EU Levels Stabilizes the Industry

Bringing up prices of Slovak dairy products to the level common in other European Union countries is the only way to stabilize the dairy industry. The Association of Slovak Dairies (SMZ) writes this in its statement regarding the shortage of butter on the Slovak market. According to the association, under the influence of persisting bad situation on the domestic market, dairies have been forced to seek solutions in neighboring countries. By finding butter buyers who were willing to pay higher purchase prices with immediate or short-term term payment beyond Slovak borders, they have temporarily solved their biggest problems.

Mike.

gom

Originally posted by Meh
Agricultural products in the EU are a smashingly simple example of unfree trade. Ever heard of the CAP?

Tis true My dear Meh. But if more trade blocs were established, the trade within these blocs would be as free as intraEU trade is e.g Butter barter article.
I'm very much infavour of the abolishment of the CAP. Agricultural subsidies are welcome but not in a production qutoa maner.