Europe Agri articles from November 2003

Europe Agri archives from November 2003

FRUIT PREPARERS TO ADJUST PRICES ACCORDING TO WEATHER CONDITIONS.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Fruit preparers in the European Union, whose association is chaired by Mr Stauber, Director of German company Zentis Gmbh & Co, met in Paris to examine the consequences of the considerable increase in the price of raw materials affecting their...

MEPS VOTE TO RELAX TOUGH CRITERIA FOR STEM CELLS.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... An Opinion on EU funding for research projects involving stem cells was adopted on November 4 by the European Parliament's Committee on Industry. The MEPs voted by 28 to 22 in favour with two abstentions. The Committee members spurned most of...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: SEVERAL MARKETING APPLICATIONS IN THE PIPELINE IN FRANCE.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... In addition to the trials, the CGB processed five proposals for marketing new GMOs. The first time since the "de facto" European moratorium was applied to GMOs in 1999. Four of the applications came from three European countries (Spain,...

BIOFUELS: COPA AND COGECA WELCOME MINISTERS' DECISIONS.
November 6, 2003... COPA-COGECA believes that the use of biofuels must be considered as a strategy issue in the future policy concerning both climate change and energy supply. The most important studies confirm that biofuels contribute to the reduction of...

FISCHLER PROPOSES REDUCING COMPULSORY SET-ASIDE BY HALF IN 2004.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler has announced plans to cut the amount of farmland that has to be set aside from normal production next year from 10% of the total under cereals to 5%, as a way of helping farmers hit by the drought this...

EU/CYPRUS/MALTA/SLOVENIA: MILK EXPORT REFUNDS LIMITED TO FEBRUARY 2004.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... The European Commission has adopted a Regulation designed to stop the speculative export of milk and dairy products from the EU to Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia in the run-up to their accession in May 2004. This is a risk because the refunds paid...

ENLARGEMENT: MONITORING REPORTS WARN OF "SERIOUS CONCERNS".(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Problems. According to draft documents, the Commission will deliver a three-fold message to the future members. Firstly, it will say that the acceding countries have reached a "high level of alignment with the acquis in most policy areas"....

CADBURY SCHWEPPES TAKES THE WRAPPERS OFF ITS SLIMMING CAMPAIGN.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Cadbury Schweppes, the UK confectionery, soft-drink and chewing gum giant, is to axe a further 5,500 jobs and shut 27 factories in an attempt to trim annual costs by [pounds sterling]400 million (Euro 585 million) by 2007. The cuts represent...

DUTCH RABOBANK TO ACQUIRE AG SERVICES OF AMERICA INC.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Rabobank Group, a Dutch bank that caters for agricultural borrowers, said on November 3 that it would expand its U.S. presence by agreeing to buy Ag Services of America Inc. for about $47 million (Euro 41 million). Based in Iowa, Ag Services...

HVB GROUP IN TALKS WITH FOUR BIDDERS FOR BRAU UND BRUNNEN.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... HVB Group is in talks with four bidders over its 56 percent stake in Germany's fourth-biggest brewer, Brau und Brunnen, industry sources said on November 1. German magazine Focus reported that U.S. private equity house One Equity Partner (OEP)...

IRISH FERTILISER PLANT SHIPPED TO CHILE.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... The former IFI fertiliser plant in Cobh, County Cork, is to be dismantled and shipped to its new owners in Chile over coming weeks. The factory, which along with its sister operations in Arklow and Belfast employed 620 people before a slump in...

BAYER GETS OUT OF MILLENIUM PHARMACEUTICALS.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Bayer, the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group, made further progress towards reducing its debt pile on October 29 by selling its stake in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a US biotechnology company, for $300m (Euro 260 million). Bayer, which...

SPANISH FEED MANUFACTURERS DEMAND EU ACTION ON GRAIN PRICES.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Spain's feed compounders called again on October 30 for the European Union to take steps to halt a months-long rise in grain prices. The Spanish Feed Compounders' Association (CESFAC) said in a statement that grain prices in Spain were 33%...

AHOLD'S US FOODSERVICE STRUGGLES FOR PROFIT.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... US Foodservice, the distribution unit at the centre of a near Euro 1 bn accounting scandal at Ahold, would struggle to remain profitable this year, the Dutch grocery group said on October 28. Ahold said US Foodservice might at best break even...

DEMISE OF LITHUANIA'S STATE ALCOHOL MONOPOLY.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Lithuania put another nail in the coffin of its state alcohol monopoly on October 29, signing over vodka producer Vilniaus Degtine to the Polish subsidiary of the French group Belvedere. Under the agreement signed with the Lithuanian State...

POLAND OPENS VETERINARY CONTROL POST IN GDYNIA.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... Poland has opened its first veterinary control outpost, located on the port of the northern city of Gdynia, after construction costing some Euro 1.8 million. The unit is needed to meet EU standards connected to the export of live animals, and...

UK DAIRY FARMERS WIN REPRIEVE FOR FARM-OWNED CO-OPERATIVE.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2003... A consortium of milk co-operatives has negotiated a deal to keep Britain's largest farmer-controlled milk processor in business, the group said on October 28. Westbury Dairies Limited, the company set up jointly by three farmer-owned...

AGRI-FOODS: COURT LAYS DOWN INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION FOR BEER NAME.
November 21, 2003... The Budjovicky Budvar brewery, in the Czech town of Eske Budjovice (Budweis, in German), produces Budweiser Budvar beer. It took legal action against the Austrian company Ammersin, which markets beer imported from the US called American Bud. In...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: UPPER AUSTRIA TO APPEAL AGAINST BAN ON DECLARING ITSELF A "GMO-FREE ZONE".(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The European Commission rejected a request from Austria to introduce national provisions banning the use of GMOs in the region of Upper Austria for a period of three years. Before reaching its decision, the Commission consulted the European...

FRANCE, PORTUGAL AND FINLAND COMPENSATED FOR FIGHTING PLANT DISEASE.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The European Commission decided on November 6 to compensate three member states for some of the costs run up fighting various plant diseases, including western corn rootworm. In accordance with Directive 2000/29/EC, the EU Budget will pay 50%...

32ND FINANCIAL REPORT ON EAGGF GUARANTEE EXPENDITURE ADOPTED.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The European Commission adopted on November 12 its draft report for the "guidance" (i.e. structural policy) activities of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) in 2002, which finances the Common Agricultural Policy. This...

ITALY TO CONTINUE AGEING WINE WITH CHIPS OF WOOD TRIAL.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Italy has been given the go-ahead by the European Commission to extend experiments with a new wine-making practice that involves adding chips of wood to the wine while it is ageing, to improve the oaky flavour of the finished product. Italy...

TSE RULES EASED FOR BULLS AND EWES.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The European Commission has taken steps to ease the provisions of Regulation 999/2001/EC on measures to eradicate transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). According to the October 30 written decision, bulls held permanently in a...

ENLARGEMENT: NEW FUNDS FOR FISH CONTROL FOR NEW MEMBER STATES.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Each EU Member State is responsible for the implementation of CFP rules, and must provide the human and technical means to ensure the effectiveness of their enforcement systems. Under the CFP reform adopted last December, control and monitoring...

FARM PAYMENTS: WELSH COMPUTERISE CAP SUBSIDY TRANSACTIONS.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Since October, Welsh farm subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been paid through a new computer system that makes the system faster and more flexible. The CAPM (CAP Management) system has already successfully processed...

ENLARGEMENT: COMMISSION MOVES TO TAX SPECULATIVE STOCK-BUILDING.
November 21, 2003... The European Commission has decided to tax surplus stocks in the future Member States to prevent speculative buying into public storage of a wide range of agricultural products in anticipation of the higher prices after accession. In a...

FRENCH CEREAL GROWERS PROTEST OVER TARIFF CUT FOR NORTH AMERICA.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... French cereal lobby, AGPB is complaining bitterly about what it sees as back-door trade preferences for the US and Canada in the grain sector, after the EU's Cereals Management Committee voted to open new quotas to North American grain imports....

TEMPORARY LIST OF SAFE THIRD COUNTRIES FOR FOOD IMPORTS ROLLED OVER.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The European Commission has proposed measures to extend until the end of 2005 Council Decision 95/408/EC on the conditions for drawing up provisional lists of third countries' establishments from which Member States are authorised to import...

BRICOUT-DELBECK WORKERS THREATEN TO DESTROY CHAMPAGNE.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Angry workers at a bankrupt French champagne manufacturer are still threatening to pour up to six million bottles down the drain unless the company's future is resolved quickly. Ninety-three of the 133 employees of Bricout-Delbeck have had...

UK SUPERMARKET SAINSBURY'S PUTS IN POOR INTERIM RESULTS.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Sir Peter Davis signalled on November 19 a strategic U-turn on his pricing strategy for J Sainsbury as he confirmed the appointment of Justin King, former Asda director, to succeed him as chief executive. Sir Peter promised to cut prices...

ITALIAN 2003/04 OLIVE OIL PRODUCTION SET TO FALL.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Italy's 2003/04 olive oil output is set to drop 4.5 percent year-on-year mainly due to damage to flowerings caused by spring frosts in the centre and north, but quality is excellent, a farm research body said on November 19. Rome-based ISMEA...

GLANBIA IN TALKS FOR UK DAIRY J-V.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Irish dairy firm Glanbia is in talks with a UK dairy co-operative over establishing a joint venture within the UK retail cheese market. The announcement came after a dairy industry newsletter reported that Glanbia's UK cheese interests would be...

SHAKE-UP AT HUMANA AFTER ISRAELI BABY FOOD DEATHS.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... Four managers at the German baby food maker Humana have been sacked after the deaths of two Israeli babies. Tests showed that the kosher Remedia Super Soya 1 product had less than 10% of the vitamin B-1 advertised. Sufficient levels of the...

PARMALAT BUBBLE BURSTS AS ACCOUNTING FEARS SET IN.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The Italian milk and food giant Parmalat has suffered a 7.1% decline in sales in the first nine months of 2003 to Euro 5.26 billion. The net performance increased to Euro 168.9 million in the third quarter, compared to Euro 156.7 million in the...

SLOVAKIAN FARMERS DEMAND MORE DROUGHT RELIEF.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... The Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and the Food Industry (SPPK) has criticised the system of distributing drought relief payments to Slovak farmers, because it favours farmers who did not invest in the past to improve their production. According...

TRIBUNAL SAYS NOMURA CAN PAY FOR CZECH BREWER IN WORTHLESS SHARES.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... A London-based arbitration tribunal has cleared the way for Nomura Securities, the Japanese investment bank, to use worthless shares to pay for the brewer of Pilsner Urquell lager, which it subsequently sold on for $629 million in 1999. The...

HEALTHY EATING IN FRANCE BOOSTS UNIQ'S FIGURES.(Brief Article)
November 21, 2003... A boom in healthy eating in France and an ongoing efficiency drive have helped food group Uniq serve up tasty half-year profits. Uniq, formerly Unigate, has recently extended its cholesterol lowering ilo brand into yogurts after the success of...