Europe Agri articles from June 2004

Europe Agri archives from June 2004

GRAIN LEGUMES: NEW EU STRATEGY TO PROMOTE PROTEIN CROPS.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... According to European scientists, grain legumes cultivated in Europe (peas, soyabeans, faba beans, lupins, chickpeas, lentils and Phaseolus beans, etc.) represent a strategic resource for environmentally-friendly farming, the diversification of...

FOOD SAFETY: EU INSPECTION MISSION UNCOVERS INCONSISTENCIES IN FINLAND.
June 11, 2004... The report points first to the organisational weaknesses of the authorities responsible for official food inspections. The central competent authority with overall responsibility for official control within the scope of the mission is the...

READY-TO-EAT FISH DISHES ADD PRESSURE TO EU STOCKS.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... The trend towards ready-to-eat fish meals has added further pressure to depleted EU fish stocks, shadow EU Fisheries Commissioner Sandra Kalniete warned on June 3. In a speech at the 9th North Atlantic Fisheries Ministers' Conference, the...

RESEARCH: BRITISH INITIATIVE TO REDUCE ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS.
June 11, 2004... The British centre for research into the 3Rs will be responsible for developing a UK strategy for the implementation of the 3Rs, for funding research on the 3Rs, providing advice on the 3Rs and on animal welfare to the scientific community and...

RESEARCH: EUROPEAN ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL OF PLANT GENETICS.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... In order to promote plant genetics abroad, more investment in this area of research is first needed at home. oUntil recently, much of the research on crops in the European Union has been carried out in public institutionso, said Professor Gian...

LIFE SCIENCES: EU BIOTECH INDUSTRY LAGS BEHIND AMERICA.
June 11, 2004... Bruce Gellatly, life science partner at Ernst & Young, explained that "on the whole, the European industry has not enjoyed the buoyancy seen in the US. It has been forced to respond to challenging funding conditions and lack of investor...

BELGIUM STILL TO IMPLEMENT EU LEGISLATION ON ANIMAL TRANSPORT.
June 11, 2004... Belgian authorities have not put all EU animal transport legislation into practice, EU veterinary experts concluded in an inspection report (1) published at the end of May. European Commission officials from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO)...

ANIMAL HEALTH: 336 BSE CASES REPORTED IN EU SO FAR THIS YEAR.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Figures for the first three months of the year show that 263 cattle were found to be infected with TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) although another 1,176 results are pending. TSEs are a family of diseases characterised by a...

DENMARK PLANS FEED PHOSPHORUS TAX.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Denmark has informed the European Commission that it plans to introduce a tax on mineral phosphorus in animal feed to help cut water pollution. The tax is part of Denmark's efforts to reduce eutrophication, a type of pollution which sees a...

POLISH FOOD EXPORTS UP 25% AFTER EU ACCESSION.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Enlargement has reaped immediate benefits for the Polish agri-food industry. Polish food exports to other EU countries rose 25% in May compared to the previous month, the Polish Agriculture Ministry said. Sales to the EU-15 went up 15% compared...

FOOD SAFETY: UK FOOD WATCHDOG INVESTIGATES BSE CHECKS FAILURE.(Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy)
June 11, 2004... The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) has indicated that it might not have tested around 200 casualty cattle aged between 24 and 30 since January 2003. Casualty cattle slaughtered after injury or illness over the age of 24 months must be tested before...

CAP REFORM: OECD ANALYSIS SHOWS CAP REFORM DID NOT CUT EU FARM SUPPORT.
June 11, 2004... Support to producers in the EU-15 has declined from 39% of farm receipts in 1986-88 to 35% in 2001-03, compared to an OECD average of 31%, according to the Organisation's study on agricultural policies in 2004 (2). In 2003, it climbed to Euro...

ANIMAL FEED: MANUFACTURERS ADOPT NEW SAFETY CODE.
June 11, 2004... 2003 output figures. Compound feed production for the EU-15 (excluding Greece and Luxembourg) was 124 million tonnes in 2003, FEFAC said. This showed a slight drop of 2.5 million tonnes from the previous year, confirming an expected...

SPAIN AND GREECE ALLOWED TO BUY IN EXTRA RICE INTERVENTION STOCKS.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... The Cereals Management Committee has agreed to Italy and Greece's request to increase the amount of rice they are allowed to buy for intervention stocks for rice for the 2004 season. Member States experts met in Brussels on May 28 and voted to...

ANIMAL HEALTH;: EUROPE ALMOST FREE OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... The FAO nevertheless said the risk of introducing the virus through illegal trade remained high. FMD remains endemic in many countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and parts of South America. Europe, North and Central America, the South...

COFFEE: COFFEE DEMAND OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY AS BRAZILIAN OUTPUT DROPS 40%.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... There are two types of coffee: the high-quality arabica and the sturdy robusta. Arabica can only be grown at altitudes of 1,000 to 2,000 metres. It is cultivated in the East African highlands, especially in Ethiopia and Kenya. Its rarity and...

AQUACULTURE: FISH-FARMING COULD FEED GLOBAL DEMAND FOR FISH.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Aquaculture is booming; production grew at a rate of 10% a year from 1990 to 2000. The industry is concentrated in the Far East which provides 90% of the global aquaculture output. China alone produced 26 million tonnes in 2001. However, the...

EU/RUSSIA: MOSCOW BANS EU FOOD IMPORTS FOR THREE DAYS IN CERTIFICATE ROW.(European Union)
June 11, 2004... The Russian Agriculture Ministry said on June 2 that it would only accept new certificates for EU exports - certificates which the EU said had not yet been agreed. "This kind of behaviour is not the kind of behaviour one would expect from a...

FAO: 52 COUNTRIES IMPLEMENT INTERNATIONAL FISHING CODE.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... FAO Fisheries Chief Ichiro Nomura said "sure and steady progress" was being made in enlisting the international community to keep to the code. Fifty countries are taking steps to make sure any of their ships fishing in the exclusive economic...

FISHERIES: ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL FOR GLOBAL BAN ON BOTTOM-TRAWLING.
June 11, 2004... Bottom-trawling is a fishing technique where a ship drags a net along the sea floor to catch fish, often picking up unwanted by-catch and churning up the seabed. Greenpeace said it leaves the seabed almost devoid of life and incapable of...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN SUMMER 2004.(Calendar)
June 11, 2004... JUNE 16 London, United Kingdom - International Grains Council annual conference www.igc.org.uk 16 - 18 Moscow, Russia - 2nd Eastern European Fertilizer Conference & Exhibition http://www.fmb-group.co.uk/ 18 - 20 Athens, Greece -...

CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALS GETS GREEN LIGHT TO ACQUIRE RAISIO CHEMICALS.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... The European Commission has granted clearance to the proposed acquisition of Raisio Chemicals Oy, a Finnish company that makes chemicals for the paper industry, by Ciba Specialty Chemicals Holding Inc. The deal does not raise any competition...

IRISH MERGER CREATES EUROPE'S LARGEST MUSHROOM FIRM.(Carbury Mushrooms)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Two Irish mushroom companies, Carbury Mushrooms and Monaghan Mushrooms, said on June 2 they would merge to form Europe's largest mushroom firm. The new company will trade under the name of Monaghan Mushrooms, employing 1,500 people and selling...

ITALY'S FISH SECTOR REPORTS EURO 376 MILLION DEFICIT.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Italy's fisheries sector reported a Euro 376 million trade deficit for the first two months of 2003, down 2.4% on the previous year. The Italian agricultural research agency ISMEA said the deficit for the combined agriculture and food sector...

GERMAN CIGARETTE SALES DROP 20% AFTER MAY TAX INCREASE.(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Smoking is bad for your wallet, German consumers decided in May as they cut back on buying cigarettes after an increase in tobacco tax. The German trade magazine Tabak Zeitung said tobacco manufacturers delivered 20% fewer cigarettes (9.1...

RUSSIA FOLLOWS EU RULES ON GM-LABELLING.(European Union, genetically-modified)(Brief Article)
June 11, 2004... Russia lowered the amount of genetically-modified (GM) material it would accept in food from 5% to 0.9% and insisted on GM-labelling from June 1. The Federal Consumer Rights Protection Service said the changes would harmonise Russian food law...

DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN: FRENCH DAIRIES ADOPT EUROPEAN PDO LOGO.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... A booklet inviting readers to explore the world of cheese ("Prenez la route des fromages") and introducing them to all cheeses that sport a designation of origin will be distributed free from July 2004 (750 000 copies) in the high speed TGV...

FOOD/BEVERAGES: 2003 PRICE COMPARISONS IN THE EU, EFTA AND THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES.
June 25, 2004... Thirty-one countries were included in the survey of some 450 products in Spring 2003. The price level indices resulting from the 2003 survey on food, beverages and tobacco highlight the following country groups: - Group I (above or equal...

AGRI-FOOD: IRISH MINISTER JOE DEFENDS NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
June 25, 2004... Dublin hosted an international Food Conference on June 17 called "Thinking Beyond Tomorrow - A Safe and Nutritious Food Chain". The aim of the conference was to examine science and technology developments along the food chain and to look at how...

CEREALS: MARGOT GROUSS, NEW DIRECTOR OF FRANCE EXPORT CEREALS.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... Margot Grouss has been appointed as the new director of France Export Cereals, replacing Philippe Kaspi. After studying at the Paris Institute of Political Science, Ms Grouss worked for the European Commission, for COCERAL (trade association...

LIFE SCIENCES: STRATEGIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME BY 2025.
June 25, 2004... The paper identifies three priorities: to produce more affordable, healthy and better quality food products; encourage environmental and agricultural sustainability; and enhance competitiveness in European agriculture, industry and forestry....

GM: MADRID QUESTIONS SCIENTIFIC OPINIONS ON GM CROPS.(Genetically modified crops)(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... The Spanish minister appears to blame the former conservative government led by Jose-Maria Aznar for allowing the cultivation of crops about which othe scientific community has yet to form a conclusive opinion". She said "there are those who...

GM: BERLIN SETS TOUGH RULES FOR GM PLANTS.(Genetically modified crops)
June 25, 2004... "The law has turned out to be a success in guaranteeing our farmers a legal planning framework", according to German Agriculture Minister Renate Kuenast. Her party, the Greens, has managed to elicit a number of concessions from its partner in...

RESEARCH: EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE GRANTS APPROVAL FOR GM PLANTS.(Genetically modified crops)(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... The European Patent Office has confirmed its approval of a controversial application by German chemical and pharmaceutical businesses Bayer for a patent for genetically modified (GM) plants resistant to the weed killer glufosinate, rejecting an...

FARM OUTPUT PRICES RISE BY 3.5%.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... The cost of agricultural products in 2003 rose by 3.5% from 2002 - or 1.1% when adjusted for inflation, the EU statistical agency Eurostat said on June 3. This is an encouraging trend after a 5% price drop for output in 2002. The rise was...

FISHERIES: SCIENTISTS ADVISE BAN ON DEEP SEA AND COD FISHING.
June 25, 2004... There is limited scientific data on deep sea stocks and only basic knowledge of how much fishing pressure they can cope with but they are believed to be very vulnerable to overfishing. Scientists know that most deep sea fish grow slowly, live...

FEED: EUROPEAN INDUSTRY PUSHES FOR GLOBAL FEED SAFETY STANDARD.
June 25, 2004... IFIS would cover the global sourcing of feed ingredients to European feed manufacturers, FEFAC said in a statement. IFSA also intends to establish and manage an International Feed Ingredient Programme (IFIP) to ensure the consistent performance...

DENMARK BANS HERRING FISHING IN EASTERN BALTIC.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... Denmark has banned herring fishing in the Eastern Baltic because of high dioxin levels, the Danish delegation told the Fish Council on June 21. The ban applies to all herring caught for food after May 28 and affects vessels from other countries...

FISH COUNCIL: "WESTERN WATERS" RULES FINALLY ANCHORED.
June 25, 2004... More cut-backs in fishing effort. The Western Waters Regulation implements the deal Fisheries Ministers struck last Autumn and sets maximum levels of fishing effort for designated North Atlantic fishing areas, from the Azores off the coast...

DAIRY: SMALL DROP IN MILK COLLECTION.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... April's supply of milk to dairies in the EU-15 fell 2% this year compared to 2003, according to figures from the EU statistical agency Eurostat released on June 22. EU-15 milk collection went up 9.2% from March, a usual trend as spring weather...

FAO: CEREAL STOCKS DOWN, MEAT PRICES SURGE IN 2004.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... Outbreaks of animal disease in major meat exporting countries have led to several bans on imports which are reducing the world meat supply and causing prices to rise sharply. International prices for dairy products were "well above average"...

GLOBAL NETWORK OF MARINE PARKS WOULD COST EURO 11 BILLION.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... For Euro 11 billion a year - the same amount people spend on luxury cruises - governments could set up a worldwide network of marine parks covering 30% of the ocean, two scientists calculate in a study published in the proceedings of the US...

ITALY IS THE WORLD'S NO 1 EXPORTER OF TOMATO PRODUCTS.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... Italy is the world's biggest exporter of tomato products, the Italian vegetable processing association ANICAV said on June 21. It accounts for just over half of all exports from the 15 major tomato producing countries and ranks as the second...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN SUMMER 2004.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 25, 2004... JUNE 25 - 27 Sicily, Italy - MEDIFISHING Mediterranean Professional Fishing Exhibition 29 - 30aaa Brussels, Belgium - European Food Law 2004 "The challenges ahead: from obesity to food safety" July 5 - 7aa Rome, Italy -...

NEW PUBLICATION.
June 25, 2004... *Conservation Technologies and the Plant Science Industry. Plant science industry group CropLife International has released a report on new farming techniques which focuses on managing national resources sustainably. It outlines the way...

GERMANY PASSES GM CONTAMINATION RULES FOR FARMERS.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... The German parliament approved new rules on June 18, making farmers with GM crops liable for contaminating conventional plants. The controversial law was passed without any opposition support. The burden of proof lies with the organic farmer...

FARMERS BLAST BRITISH SUPERMARKET GIANT TESCO.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... British farmers attacked the UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco for treating producers in a "ruthless" way to drive prices down to rock-bottom levels. Farm representatives voiced their complaints at Tesco's annual meeting in London on June 19...

MILK PRODUCERS QUIT DANISH-SWEDISH CO-OPERATIVE ARLA FOODS.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... A group of 17 milk producers said on June 21 they would leave Danish-Swedish dairy group Arla Foods by October 1, 2004. The 17 milk producers deliver a total of 14 million litres of milk to Arla Foods, Europe's largest dairy company. Seven of...

COMMISSION APPROVES CHARTERHOUSE TAKEOVER OF AUTOBAR.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... The European Commission granted regulatory approval on June 21, under simplified merger review procedure, for Charterhouse Capital Partners VII, a British equity firm controlled by Charterhouse Capital Limited, to acquire full control of...

BRAZIL BEEF EXPORTS TO RUSSIA TRIPLE IN MAY.(Brief Article)
June 25, 2004... Brazilian beef exports to Russia more than tripled in May to 24,866 tonnes from 7,363 tonnes in April as exporters took advantage of increased Russian import quotas, the Brazilian beef exporters association Abiec said on June 8. Brazilian beef...