The Association has said poor crop yields were the main cause for the profit decrease following the 2.5-fold profit increase seen in 2011.

But association chairman, Martin Pride, said that regional variations were apparent across the country with the worst affected farmers being the drought affected south where average income per hectare was less than CZK1,000.

Highest profits were seen in central regions, he added.

The survey used data from 356 farms covering 600,000 hectares of Czech farmland.

The association has stated that European subsidies contribute greatly to making farms profitable and Czech producers are some of the most dependent in Europe.