Czechs loosen rules on foreign ownership of farms
Foreigners will find it easier to buy farmland in the Czech Republic following new regulations passed on 13 July that effectively end the seven-year ban on foreign ownership of land in the Czech Republic which was agreed with the European Union in 2004. EU and Swiss investors – and those covered by European Economic Area pacts – will now be permitted to buy farm and forestry acreage being sold by the Czech government.
The government has an estimated 147,000 hectares of land (or 3.5% of the country‟s agricultural land) prepped for sale. Czech Ministry of Agriculture figures show that farmland fetches between €1,200-€2,000 ($1,725 - $2,875) per hectare, depending on the quality of the land. These values are about one-third of the price at which agricultural land sells in Britain.
But before investors rush out to buy their own Zetor tractor, there is a small catch. Preferential treatment in the disposal of state-controlled farmland will be given to existing Czech farmers who have been working at least 10 hectares of land for the past three years
