Europe Agri articles from April 2005

Europe Agri archives from April 2005

32 UMBRIA WINEMAKERS TO TAKE PART IN ITALIAN WINE FAIR.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Thirty two companies from the central Italian region of Umbria will take part in the 39th edition of Italian wine fair Vinitaly, it was announced on April 6. The region will be well represented at the fair, featuring over 100 Umbria wines at a...

BRITISH BEEF BANNED IN 84 COUNTRIES, SAYS UK GOVERNMENT.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... British beef is still banned in 84 countries following the BSE crisis of the 1990s, according to a government minister quoted by the BBC on April 6. Junior environment, food and rural affairs minister Ben Bradshaw gave the figure in response to...

HEINEKEN TO SEEL AUSTRIAN ESTATE FOR EURO 238 MILLION.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Dutch brewery Heineken announced on April 6 that its Austrian unit Brau Union AG has agreed to sell its real estate division for euro 238 million to a group of investors. The sale 'is consistent with Heineken's strategy to concentrate on core...

TOP SLOVENIA FOOD PRODUCERS DROGA AND KOLINSKA MERGE.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... The shareholders of Slovenia's leading food producers Droga and Kolinska approved a merger of the two companies on April 6, state radio reported. The new company is to be known as Droga Kolinska. It will be Slovenia's largest food company. The...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2005.(Calendar)
April 7, 2005... April 11-15 Lyons, France - "Biovision". World Life Sciences Forum. Guest speakers will include scientists, society and industry leaders involved in the development of Healthcare, Agriculture and Environment. 12-13 Reading, UK -...

POTATO STARCH: MEPS WANT EXISTING QUOTA SYSTEM TO BE EXTENDED UNTIL 2009.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... MEPs in the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee adopted a report on April 19 saying that the EU's quota system for potato starch should be extended until 2009. The report, drafted by Janusz Wojciechowski (PPE-DE, Poland), says the...

MEAT: POLISH MEATPACKING PLANT CLOSES AFTER ROTTEN MEAT SCANDAL.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... Rzeczpospolita and Polish television channel TVN caught workers at the Constar plant on hidden cameras, debating whether expired products sent back by stores should be thrown out or cleaned up and sent out again. Following media coverage of the...

BIOTECH PARTNERSHIP: LYON REGION LAUNCHES EUROBIOCLUSTER PARTNERSHIP.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... The city of Lyon, along with its Rhone-Alpes Region, launched a "Eurobiocluster" partnership on April 14 during the Lyon "Biovision" conference held by the biotechnology industry. The aim of the initiative is to make Lyon one of the most...

GMO's: EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE RULES NOT TO REVOKE MONSANTO PATENT.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... Syngenta and Greenpeace: Plants excluded from patentability Syngenta and Greenpeace had first filed oppositions to the granting of the patent in 1997 - they argued, among other things, that the patent issued concerned plant varieties, which...

ANIMAL WELFARE: FISCHER BOEL WARNS MEMBER STATES.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... In light of the organisations' allegations, the Commissioner asked the member states to "pay particular attention" to the Commission Regulation (EC) No 639/2003 which reinforced the obligation to comply with welfare requirements during animal...

FARMERS' LOBBY: COPA ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT.(election of Rudolf Schwarzbock at COPA)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... European Farmers'lobby COPA on April 15 unanimously elected Rudolf Schwarzbock as its new President for the period 20052007. Mr Schwarzbock, the former President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Lower Austria and a member of the COPA Praesidium...

CEREALS: FAO FORECASTS GOOD CROP FOR 2005.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... International price increases for cereals Despite the generally good news, the report says, "dry weather in several Asian countries since late last year has negatively impacted the 2004 secondary paddy crop season, which is nearing its...

TRADE NEGOTIATIONS: COPA-COGECA REMIND MANDELSON OF "FIRM PROMISE" ON AGRICULTURE.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... The Presidents of farmers' lobby COPA-COGECA, Peter Gaemelke and Eduardo Baamonde, reminded EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson of the "red line" for agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organisation during a meeting on April 14. They...

FAO: GLOBALIZED LIVESTOCK MARKETS POSE POTENTIAL RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2005... "Outbreaks of transboundary diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia and new threats such as Avian Influenza, cause disruption within national, regional and international markets", the report says. In addition,...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2005.(Calendar)
April 21, 2005... April 26 Luxembourg - EU Farm and Fisheries Council 26-27 Helsinki, Finland - "BioFinland 05": an international biotechnology congress focusing on genomic drug discovery. The congress will address the entire drug chain, from basic...