EU: European Commission approves 19 programmes to promote agriculture
“EU programmes of this sort can really help our producers in an increasingly competitive world”
The programmes were approved in 14 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom) to provide information on and to promote agricultural products in the European Union.
According to Mr. Dacian Ciolos, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, “In an open global market, merely producing excellent food and drink is not enough. We need to increase our efforts to explain to consumers the standards and the quality of what EU agriculture puts on the table. EU programmes of this sort can really help our producers in an increasingly competitive world.”
The total budget for the 19 programmes is €60.6 million (US $76 million). Half of this budget will be contributed by the EU (up to 60% in programmes promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables by children), while the remainder will come from the professional organisations that proposed the programmes, as well as from the Member States concerned.
EU: An important F&V producer
The EU is an important F&V production region, despite the fact that most of this production takes places in just a few countries: Italy, Spain, France and Poland, according to Frutas y Hortalizas en España (Fruits and Vegetables in Spain), the latest report published by Fundación Cajamar. Indeed, Italy and Spain account for nearly 50% of total F&V production in the EU.
Total F&V production in the EU: 2002-2008
Own elaboration, with data as at 5 July 2010 from: http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx#ancor, Statistics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAOSTAT)
EU fruit production remained fairly stable between 2002 and 2008, with just a few ups and downs. The highest volume was registered in 2004, when 78,314,260 tonnes were produced, while the year with the lowest yield was 2007, when 69,656,354 tonnes were produced.
As for vegetable production, this showed a decrease between 2004 and 2008. The yield in 2004 of 103,268,954 tonnes dropped 9.4% to 93,548,914 tonnes in 2008.
Decrease in the balance of trade
Nevertheless, as underlined by the report Frutas y Hortalizas en España, despite the high F&V production capacity in EU-27, the balance of trade is negative. With respect to fruits, the balance of trade has been negative since 2002. Among other reasons, this has been due to the entry of various products, particularly tropical fruits, melons and watermelons.
As for vegetables, the balance of trade has been fairly neutral, with a slight predominance of imports in the period from 2004 to 2008. One reason for this could be the increase in products imported from the South.
S&G Brassicas Today - July 2010
