Visegrad countries - agrarian foreign trade development in relation to their total merchandise trade performance

The paper analyzes merchandise and especially agrarian trade of Visegrad (V4) countries. It especially analyzes their mutual trade relations. The main aim is to identify changes in the agricultural sector which have happened during the last decade and to compare differences existing in the area of merchandise and agricultural trade development. Another very important objective is related to mutual trade realized among V4 countries. In this case the paper identifies basic trends in the area of each country’s trade development. Mutual agrarian trade competitiveness is also analyzed. On the basis of the findings, it can be said that merchandise and agricultural trade for each V4 country changed significantly during the analysed time period. In relation to agricultural trade it can be mentioned that it represents only a marginal part of the total merchandise trade. Agrarian trade for individual V4 countries’ commodity structures as well as the territorial structure are very significantly concentrated. The predominant majority of agricultural trade – export as well as import – is carried out with EU countries. In this case it is necessary to emphasize that V4 countries are also important trade partners for each other. On the basis of Visegrad countries’ mutual trade analysis it is possible to say that the main traders active on the V4 market are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The most competitive actors operating in the V4 market are Poland and Hungary. If we analyze each country’s export performance we can see that the V4 market is dominated by Poland and the Czech Republic.