Slovakia: Agribusiness in Central Europe
The Slovak Republic is a small and landlocked country located in Central Europe. After spending most of the 20th century as a unified political entity with the neighboring Czech Republic in what was known as Czechoslovakia, the two countries had a peaceful separation in 1993. Throughout the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was a satellite regime of the Soviet Union and it was kept in check with stark levels of sociopolitical repression. However, after its separation from the Czech Republic, Slovakia successfully transitioned into democracy and a free market economy. Furthermore, in 2004, Slovakia joined both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union. Lastly, in 2009, Slovakia adopted the Euro as its official currency.
Slovakia has a total territory of little over 49.000 square kilometers, which is approximately twice the size of New Hampshire. Geographically, hills and mountains dominate the country, alongside some lowlands in the south. Slovakia has a total population of about 5.5 million citizens, more than 50% of which live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Bratislava with some 400.000 inhabitants. Currently, the Slovak annual gross domestic product (GDP) is approximately US$160 billion and it has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 2.5% in recent years. Slovakia’s national economy is divided into 4% agriculture, 32% manufacturing, and 64% services. Likewise, the Slovak agricultural industry employs 4% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 23% and services employ another 73%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes some 40% of the national territory, while another 40% is forested.
In terms of natural resources, Slovakia has lignite, copper, manganese & iron ore, salt, and arable land. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on automobiles, metallurgy, electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel, chemicals, textiles, fibers, wood products, machinery, and ceramics. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, pigs, cattle, poultry, and forestry goods. In terms of trade, Slovakia’s main partners are fellow EU members, notably Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Poland.
Slovakia: Agribusiness in Central Europe
In recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Slovak population has been of 36 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers supply approximately 35% of the food energy intake in the country. Simultaneously, land distribution and agricultural output in Slovakia have evolved slightly throughout the last several decades. Upon separation in 1993, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered some 835.000 hectares, while arable land covered almost 1.6 million hectares and permanent crops accounted for merely 49.000 hectares. More recently, by 2014, permanent pastures and meadows had decreased to account for little over 510.000 hectares, while arable land represented approximately 1.4 million hectares and permanent crops covered about 20.000 hectares. Meanwhile, in 1993, the cereals market in Slovakia utilized more than 835.000 hectares of land and yielded almost 3.2 million metric tons annually. Finally, in 2014, the country devoted less than 780.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded over 4.7 million metric tons.