Europe Agri articles from January 2005

Europe Agri archives from January 2005

COMMISSION USHERS IN TOUGHER TRANSPORT RULES FOR FROZEN PRODUCE.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Companies involved in the frozen food trade will soon have to meet more stringent transport conditions so as to guarantee the safety of the cold chain. With this in mind, the European Commission recently adopted a Regulation on the transport of...

EU ROLLS OVER MALIC ACID DEROGATION FOR ARGENTINEAN WINE MAKERS.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... EU Agriculture Ministers adopted a Regulation on December 21, 2004, authorising imports of wines from Argentina which may have undergone oenological processes not authorised by EU legislation (Regulation 1493/1999/EC) on the common organisation...

MONSANTO FINED $1.5 MILLION FOR GM-COTTON BRIBE.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... US agrochemical giant Monsanto has been fined US$ 1.5 million by the United States Government for bribing an Indonesian official, it was revealed on January 7. The company, a major developer of genetically-modified (GM) crops, admitted that one...

GM-CROPS SEE 20% INCREASE IN 2004, WITH STRONG SURGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Genetically-modified (GM) crop acreage saw a 20% surge world-wide in 2004 - a leap of 13 million hectares from 2003 -, according to a new report released on January 12 by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech...

EU ASKED TO LEGISLATE ON MARKETING OF CONSERVATION-VARIETY SEEDS.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... At least two Member States - Germany and Denmark - are calling for the drafting of a Community Regulation authorising the use and marketing of regional plant varieties in order to promote nature conservation. The two delegations drew Ministers'...

RESEARCH: MORE COOPERATION NEEDED BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND RESEARCH MINISTRIES.
January 13, 2005... The meeting will do the spadework for closer cooperation between Ministries of Agriculture and Ministries for Research, something which the Dutch Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers had singled out as an absolute priority for the future....

FISHERIES: POLICY DEBATE ON FUTURE EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Several Member States backed the principles underlying Common Fisheries Policy reforms proposed in December 2002, by virtue of which the Council decided to withdraw aid for the replacement of fishing boats and to restrict aid for their...

SUGAR: EU REFORM PLANS LIKELY TO BE DELAYED.
January 13, 2005... After the latest debate by EU Agriculture Ministers on December 21, the outgoing Dutch Presidency concluded that all delegations agreed that the status quo in the common market organisation for sugar was not sustainable and that the competitive...

FISHERIES: 17% FALL IN EU-25 CATCHES BETWEEN 1995 AND 2002.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... The EU's fishing fleet has seen a 15% reduction in size since 1995 - all Member States recorded a fall in the size of their fleets over the period, except France which rose by 1,500 vessels. The largest falls were registered in Spain (4,000...

EU/ASIA: TSUNAMI RESPONSE HONED BY COMMISSIONERS IN WAKE OF WFP/FAO APPEALS.(Food and Agriculture Organisation)
January 13, 2005... Food aid. The Commissioners confirmed the release of Euro 14 million in EU food aid to support a $256 million appeal launched on January 6 by the UN World Food Programme. The Euro 14 million sum forms part of the EU's proposed support...

EU/CARIBBEAN STATES: MANDELSON PROMISES TO "PUT DEVELOPMENT FIRST" IN TRADE DEAL.
January 13, 2005... Doha Development Agenda: "top trade priority" for EU. Mr Mandelson called for a "high level of ambition" for the DDA, and particularly for the December WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong where WTO members are hoping to secure a new global...

EU BACKS EXTENSION OF 1986 INTERNATIONAL OLIVE OIL AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Meeting on December 21 in Brussels, the EU Council of Ministers gave the European Commission permission to vote in favour of extending the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives until December 31, 2005, if the members of the...

COUNCIL APPROVES NEW EU/COMOROS FISHERIES PROTOCOL.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... The Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros on fishing off the Comoros was formally adopted by...

EU LIFTS BAN ON BEEF IMPORTS FROM 4 ARGENTINEAN PROVINCES.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Imports of beef from four Argentinean provinces into the EU are set to resume on January 12 after the European Commission lifted a ban in place since September 2003. Beef imports from the Northern provinces of Formosa, Salta, Chaco and Jujuy...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN WINTER/SPRING 2004.(Calendar)
January 13, 2005... January 14 Strasbourg, France - "The CAP - new prospects for young farmers in Europe and beyond", European Commission conference. 14 Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) political...

ARLA FOODS TO MERGE WITH DUTCH CAMPINA GROUP.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... The Danish co-operative Arla Foods and Dutch dairy group Campina are to merge their business, creating the world's leading dairy co-operative. Campina will control almost 10% of total dairy production and establish itself as the second...

BAKKAVOR BIDS FOR BRITISH GEEST GROUP.(Bakkavor group)(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... The British Geest group, which specialises in fresh produce, has confirmed that it has received a takeover bid from the Icelandic Bakkavor group. Geest has several units in France where it is present on the markets in St Paul de Leon, Meribel,...

IRISH IAWS GROUP SECURES CONTROL OF HUBERT.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... The fund managed by Apax Partners France has sold its majority stake in Hubert (Boul'pat), France's leading distributor of products to bakers and catering professionals, to the Irish IAWS group for Euro 105 million. Apax Partners acquired the...

PREMIER FOODS TO BUY STAKES IN AMERICAN COMPANY KRAFT.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Premier Foods is acquiring several UK business interests belonging to American food giant Kraft. British Premier Foods will buy Krafts English desserts and Birds mustard for [pounds sterling]70 million. The sale of the Birds, Angel Delight and...

ADELPHE/ECO-EMBALLAGES ALLIANCE IN WASTE COLLECTION AND SORTING SECTOR.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... Two state-accredited waste collection and sorting companies, Eco-Emballages and Adelphe are preparing to establish links early this year. Eco-Emballage is due to take a major stake in Adelphe. The alliance plan has been approved by the two...

LACTALIS BUYS RONDELE BRAND.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2005... French dairy company Lactalis has bought the entire capital of Rondele Speciality Foods in the US from Facilitator Capital Fund. Lactalis has owned the Rondele brand in Europe since the 1980s when an agreement was concluded with the creators of...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: BIOTECH CROP AREA EXPANDING RAPIDLY WORLD-WIDE.
January 27, 2005... Biggest growth coming from Third World. The study, authored by IAAA Chairman and founder Clive James, points out that, for the first time, the absolute growth in biotech crop area was higher in developing countries (7.2 million hectares)...

GREENPEACE INTERCEPTS GM-SOYA SHIP.(genetically Modified)
January 27, 2005... Environmental campaigners from Greenpeace are back on the high seas trying to keep Europe GM-free. And they have their work cut out for them now that the EU's ad hoc moratorium on marketing authorisations of genetically-engineered products has...

FARM COUNCIL: LUXEMBOURG PRESIDENCY TO PUT IMPETUS ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAP FUNDING.(Brief Article)
January 27, 2005... Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has already made it clear that the adoption of the Commission's proposal on rural development is one of her "top priorities" and that it is crucial that an agreement on this be reached under the...

LATVIA REQUESTS EU HELP AFTER STORM CAUSES EURO 59 MILLION DAMAGE.(Brief Article)
January 27, 2005... The Latvian delegation put forward a request for European Union funds at the January 24 Farm Council to help Latvia compensate for losses up to Euro 59 million resulting from a violent storm on January 8-9. Latvian losses in the forestry sector...

GREEK REQUEST FOR MAIZE INTERVENTION TURNED DOWN.(Brief Article)
January 27, 2005... A request by the Greek delegation for European Union intervention in the maize market was turned down by Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel at the January 24 Farm Council. European maize, like most other cereals in the EU, is...

FISHERIES: EU TO SUPPLY OLD FISHING BOATS TO TSUNAMI-STRICKEN COUNTRIES.(European Union)
January 27, 2005... The boat proposal - which was supported by all 25 EU Ministers at the meeting - involves sending decommissioned vessels to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and India to help replenish the countries' fishing fleets, which were devastated by the...

EU MINISTERS ENDORSE IVORY COAST FISHERIES DEAL.(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 27, 2005... Meeting in Council in Brussels on January 24, the European Union's Fisheries Ministers endorsed an agreement struck with the Ivory Coast outlining the EU's fishing possibilities in Ivorian waters. The deal, valid from July 2004 to the end of...