Postcommunism, agriculture and trends in food consumption in the Czech Republic

The paper examines trends in food consumption in the Czech Republic. The impact on food consumption of the economic policy of 1991 introduced in Czechoslovakia following the collapse of communism, is first considered. Consumer demands and food supply and international trade are reviewed for Czechoslovakia as a whole and more recently, for the Czech Republic. Issues to be addressed in the future are identified as: the decline in importance of income and price structures as 'quantitative saturation' is reached; the demand for more convenience food; the development of a more integrated agro-food system; globalization; food quality; and environmental impact.