Czech farmers post positive numbers

The Agriculture Ministry has revealed that in 2004 the Czech agriculture sector turned a profit of 9 billion crowns, or 365 million US dollars, a marked turn around from the previous year when Czech agriculture suffered losses of 2 billion crowns. The ministry has attributed the turn-around in revenues to the Czech Republic's joining the EU, seeing an increase in subsidies, improvements in production, and a rise in prices. The Czech Statistical Office has said that in 2003 the agriculture sector received 21 billion crowns in support, while last year that amount rose by one third.