Agricultures post-communistes en Europe centrale : récession, protection, restructuration lente

Since 1990, in Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia, the price and trade liberalization and the moretary restriction have shrunk the food domestic markets, while the liquidation of CEMA and the soviet economic collapse have much reduced eastern outlets. The resulting financial and surplus crisis in agriculture have been sharpened by the monopolist structure and the inefficiency of upstream and dowstream links. The ensuing agricultural recession could be lasting because the privatization process will not quickly cope with structural inadequacy of the sector. Despite increased import protection, this is going to bring back Czechoslovakia and Poland to net agro-import positions, and to shrink hungarian exports of bulk products. On longer term, a global economic recovery, CAP reform and opening, and new dynamic in dowstream links could reverse the recessive trend, in view of the high agricultural potential of these countries.