Although all EU countries operate within a single market, the prerequisites for the production of agricultural products differ significantly between countries – area payments are incomparable, and the permitted quantities of plant protection products and mineral fertilisers per hectare are not calculated in absolute numbers, but in mysterious percentages. These unequal conditions significantly affect the competitiveness of agricultural products produced in our country on the EU market.

(...) It is known that the majority of Latvia's inhabitants would prefer to buy local produce, but they are deterred by the price - products produced in Latvia are more expensive than imports, and so many people ask: how can it be that strawberries brought from Greece or potatoes from Poland are cheaper than local ones, given that roughly the same resources must be invested in their cultivation, as well as accounting for transport costs. We must return to what was said at the beginning - the price of agricultural products is generally lower for countries that have higher EU area payments and more favourable conditions for agricultural production.