Europe Agri articles from January 2004

Europe Agri archives from January 2004

ORGANIC FOOD: EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEARING ON ORGANIC FOOD AND FARMING.(Calendar)
January 16, 2004... Commenting on the hearing, Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries said: "There are important questions we need to address. How, for example, can we boost trade and consumption of organic products in the...

ORGANIC FARMING: REVIVAL PLAN IN FRANCE UNDER FIRE FROM RURAL ORGANISATIONS.
January 16, 2004... Setting neither qualitative nor quantitative objectives, the new French Government plan puts the emphasis on market forces and no more, paying scant attention to the environmental and social advantages of organic farming, say the farmers'...

ENLARGEMENT: FASHION FORGES FOOD PREFERENCES IN NEW MEMBER STATES.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Meat and dairy consumption generally faced a sharp decline during the early 1990s in most EU accession countries. During that time, demand for meat and dairy products declined by 10-20% and fell significantly below the average per capita...

NEW PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN FOR ITALIAN CHEESE.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The European Commission decided on December 22 to add an Italian cheese to the register of protected designations of origin. Spressa delle Guidicarie quality cheese is added to the list of some 600 products already protected under Regulation...

DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN: GLOBAL STRATEGY TO DEFEND GEOGRAPHIC INDICATIONS.
January 16, 2004... ORIGIN members note that several initiatives prove that producers in Europe and other parts of the world are keen to promote and defend their quality products: Kenya and Cambodia are currently introducing legislation on the protection of PGIs,...

GM-FOOD: PRISON FOR NON-LABELLING IN GERMANY.
January 16, 2004... Labelling the components of consumer products is a precondition for guaranteeing freedom of choice for the buying public and farmers, says Renate Kuenast. She claims that labelling helps all parties to decide whether or not to buy...

PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS: PARLIAMENT APPROVES CHANGE TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGULATION.
January 16, 2004... The European Parliament gave its go-ahead on January 13 with no amendments (single-reading consultation procedure) to the Commission's proposal to amend Regulation 2100/94 on the EU regime for protecting plant variety rights to make it...

FARM REVENUE: MIXED FORTUNES FROM INCOMES, PRODUCTION VALUE AND PRODUCT PRICES IN 2003.(Industry Overview)
January 16, 2004... The average full-time farm worker in the EU saw his/her income grow by nearly 1% over the course of 2003, according to preliminary estimates by Eurostat, the EU Statistical Office. The increase of 0.9% turns around a 4.4% decline registered in...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT BUDGET UP FOR DISCUSSION.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler is concentrating on the rural development budget for the next financial perspective (2007-2012) in the run up to the EU executive's proposal for the overall budget due on January 25. His spokesman said that...

EU BUDGET: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WOULD CHALLENGE SPENDING FREEZE AT 1% OF GDP.
January 16, 2004... Daniel Cohn-Bendit, President of the European Parliament Greens/European Free Alliance Group, and co-President Monica Frassoni, have written to each of the six signatories of the letter by net contributors demanding that the next financial...

FISHERIES: SOLE, HAKE AND NORWAY LOBSTER RECOVERY PLANS.
January 16, 2004... The proposals follow hot on the heels of the cod recovery plan, adopted at the December Council, and the northern hake recovery plan, which was approved at the same time. They have been all but ready since mid-2003, but diplomats pleaded with...

FISCHLER MAKES MOVES TOWARDS PIGMEAT EXPORT REFUNDS.
January 16, 2004... The EU's ailing pig industry could get a boost if EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler follows up on a hint he dropped on January 15, during a visit to Berlin. "I will consider proposing that export refunds should be reintroduced for a limited...

ANIMAL HEALTH: FAO URGES COUNTRIES TO STRICTLY APPLY PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST BSE.
January 16, 2004... "In many countries, BSE controls are still not sufficient and many countries are not applying the recommended measures properly", the statement continued. "There is also a considerable risk of further introducing infectious materials, given the...

INTERBREW CLEARED TO BUY GERMAN BREWER SPATEN.
January 16, 2004... The European Commission cleared the proposed acquisition on December 19, of German brewer Spaten by Interbrew of Belgium. The deal will lead to Interbrew becoming the number one beer supplier in Germany. However, the Commission's Merger Task...

EBRD LENDS EUR 12 MILLION TO BALKAN GRAIN TRADER YU-POINT.(Yu-Point d.o.o)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Serbia and Montenegro's largest grain trading company, Yu-Point d.o.o. will benefit from a Euro 12 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Fortis Bank. The loan is divided on equal terms between both...

INTERBREW SWALLOWS KOREAN BREWER ORIENTAL.
January 16, 2004... Belgium's Interbrew said on January 7 that it had gained control of South Korea's second biggest brewer Oriental, upping the ante against Danish rival Carlsberg as the two fight for a share of the growing market. Interbrew, the world's fourth...

IMPERIAL TOBACCO CUDDLES UP TO CHINESE HONGTA.(Hongta Group.)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Britain's Imperial Tobacco has struck a 10-year cooperation deal with China's largest tobacco company, the Hongta Group, to produce its West cigarette brand, it was reported on January 7. Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth largest producer,...

GREEK COCA-COLA BOTTLER BUYS CRISP MAKER TSAKIRIS.(Tsakiris.)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Greek bottler Coca_Cola HBC said on December 30 that it had completed the takeover of 100% of Tsakiris, the country's second-largest potato crisp maker, for Euro 6.2 million. CCHBC, one of the world's largest bottlers of Coca_Cola products,...

BATCHELORS SNAPPED UP BANK OF SCOTLAND & BARRY'S TEA.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Irish firm Barry's Tea and Bank of Scotland have joined forces to buy tinned vegetable producer Batchelors in a Euro 95 million deal. They plan to buy Northern Foods Ireland Ltd through a joint-venture, called Maiden Acquisition Company. The...

INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATION ENCOURAGE BIOTECH.(by the French government)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The French Government adopted a special incentive status for young innovative companies on December 19. From 2004, innovative companies will be exempt from tax and social contributions for eight years. The landmark initiative (Jeunes...

NUTRITION: EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AGENCIES SOUND THE ALARM ON OBESITY.
January 30, 2004... The National Food Safety Agencies and institutions involved in nutrition of the European Union countries and Norway say that nutrition should be considered as a significant parameter in the risk analysis process for food because: -...

ORGANIC FOOD: HEARING ON THE ACTION PLAN FOR oNICHEo ORGANIC FARMING.
January 30, 2004... The questions discussed focused greatly on the hard facts of marketing organic produce and managing supply and demand. Several speakers stated that progress relied on good information about consumers' habits being relayed quickly to farmers, to...

FRENCH FRUIT PRODUCERS SAY EUROPE IS IN DEFICIT.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... The 15 current EU Member States have a fruit deficit and the trend will worsen with the accession of ten new countries in May 2004, according to Pierre Blanc, chairman of the French National Federation of Fruit Producers (FNPF). By his...

MEPS PROPOSE CHANGES TO FEED HYGIENE REGULATION.
January 30, 2004... MEPs in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection are nearing crunch-time on the proposal to tighten up hygiene requirements for animal feed. The final amendments to a tough new Regulation have been tabled, and the...

PUBLIC SALES OF WINE ALCOHOL FOR USE AS BIOETHANOL.
January 30, 2004... In the context of its ongoing efforts to reduce stocks of alcohol stemming from the distillation of surplus wine, the European Commission has proceeded with public sales of wine alcohol for use in the fuel sector in the European Union. Four...

GLOBAL USE OF BIOTECH CROPS CONTINUES TO ROCKET.(International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications report )(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... Farmers around the world continued to expand their use of biotech crops at a double-digit pace, with the 2003 total up 15% to 67.7 million hectares, according to a report released recently by the International Service for the Acquisition of...

OCTOBER MILK COLLECTION UP 1.8% YEAR ON YEAR.
January 30, 2004... The collection of cow's milk from farms in the EU was up by 1.8% in October 2003 compared to the same month a year earlier, according to figures released by the EU Statistical Office Eurostat. That corresponds to a total collection of over 9.2...

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS: IRISH MINISTER OUTLINES PRESIDENCY PRIORITIES TO EURO-MPS.
January 30, 2004... Mr Walsh told the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee on January 27 that it was vital to assist the ten acceding countries in implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) properly. He appeal came on the same day that the Committee...

IRISH MINISTER PRESENTS THOUGHTS ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO MEPS.(Eamon O Cuiv )(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... Ireland's Rural Minister Eamon O Cuiv spoke to MEPs in the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee on January 27 on the need to increase momentum in rural development policy. "It has been clear for some time now that farming alone cannot...

MEPS CRITICISE CAP'S SHORTCOMINGS ON FARM INCOME.
January 30, 2004... The current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cannot guarantee farm incomes and at the same time promote the multifunctional countryside that policy-makers are hoping to encourage with rural development funding, according to a report adopted by...

MEPS WANT MORE FUNDING FOR FARM RESEARCH.
January 30, 2004... An own-initiative report adopted by the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee on January 21 has called on the Commission to boost research spending on sustainable agriculture and rural development. Rapporteur Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu...

COMMISSION WANTS TO AMEND HONEY SUPPORT SCHEME.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... Changes to the aid scheme for beekeeping are needed to update the measures in line with the current situation, according to a report produced by the European Commission on January 23. The regular three-yearly report on the functioning of the...

FARM PRODUCT QUOTAS SAFEGUARDED FOR NEW MEMBER STATES.(import quotas)(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... The European Commission has recently adopted a number of Regulations which are aimed at safeguarding shares of the EU's trade in agricultural products for the 10 new Member States due to join in May. The measures split annual EU import quotas...

FAO SAYS TOBACCO PRODUCTION ON THE UP AND MOVING TO DEVELOPING WORLD.(Food and Agriculture Organisation)(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... World tobacco demand is expected to increase until the year 2010 due to population and income growth, but at lower rates than in the past, according to a new study published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation in January. While in...

ENLARGEMENT: WALSH SLIPS UP ON FARM COMPENSATION FOR FUTURE REFORMS.
January 30, 2004... "Part of the Copenhagen deal was that direct payments in agriculture would be phased in", said a Commission spokesman. "Do not forget that because Poland gets a phasing-in period, Polish agriculture will not be subject to financial discipline,...

EU SUSPENDS IMPORT OF PET BIRDS FROM ASIA, SENDS HELP TO VIETNAM.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2004... EU veterinary experts backed a proposal to ban the import of exotic birds as pets from Asian countries on January 29, in an effort to ward off the growing bird 'flu epidemic. EU Member States pushed for the ban via their experts in the Standing...

PUBLICATIONS.
January 30, 2004... * "History of the surveillance and control of transmissible animal diseases" by Jean Blancou; Published by the International Animal Health Office (OIE) ISBN: 92-9044-507-6; English and French available. The book outlines the history of the...

ITALIAN TOBACCO CONSORTIUM UNDER FIRE IN ROMANIA.
January 30, 2004... Italian consortium Tobacco 2003 is coming under fire in Romania, after it purchased a Euro 12 million controlling stake in the national tobacco company from the Romanian privatisation agency. Critics say that the consortium does not have the...