Okamura claims the SPD made food cheaper, but economists and the agriculture ministry disagree.

SPD leader Tomio Okamura said his party’s agriculture minister had made food cheaper in the Czech Republic, citing year-over-year price drops of 42% for butter and milk and 14% for eggs. The Czech Ministry of Agriculture and economists disputed this, saying the main causes were market trends in Europe, last year’s good harvest, and lower agricultural input costs. They also said Chinese customs policies had caused a buildup of EU dairy and meat products, pushing prices down. August data from the Statistical Office showed year-over-year declines of 23.7% for pork and 38.8% for butter. The ministry said only that it had improved market transparency by publishing price indicators and appointing a food inspector.