SPPK: 3 Agriculture Ministers and 6 State Secretaries Replaced in Three Years(2)

Nitra, May 11 (TASR) - The Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK) noted at its general assembly on Thursday that even though the average longevity of an agriculture minister in Slovakia is about two years, during the three years of the outgoing government there were three replacements of agriculture ministers as well as at least six different state secretaries and 19 general directors, fluctuations that have borne extremely negative impacts on agricultural business, TASR learnt from SPPK President Emil Macho on the same day. "Running a business and setting up subsidy schemes in such a situation is enormously challenging," underlined Macho. The farmers and food producers identified four short-term priorities. The first is communication with all relevant political parties, set to contest the upcoming parliamentary election in September. "We don't want to go through the same experience of having parties promise something before the election, only to fail to meet those promises after the election. All employer unions in Slovakia are concerned with the current legislative process and the situation in Parliament, where bills that we have no option to comment are tabled willy-nilly. We must talk about this," said Macho. Another priority is the need to address the imports of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products to Slovakia. A European ban on these imports will stay in effect for Central European countries, Romania and Bulgaria until June 4, but what is to come after is not clear. "This issue's here to stay for a long time, as Ukraine will continue to export these commodities to us in the future as well. We want equal conditions for all. It's unacceptable to have someone exempted from eco-schemes and the need to comply with pesticide regulations, while others must abide by them. It puts us at disadvantage, as we're saddled with higher costs," emphasized Macho. Because of this, Slovak food producers and farmers, together with their counterparts from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria will take part in a protest in front of the European Commission's office in Brussels on May 23. Among the remaining priorities Macho cited the 2024 state budget and communication with the new agriculture minister, expected to be appointed by President Zuzana Caputova soon. mf/mcs