Europe Agri articles from October 2003

Europe Agri archives from October 2003

RESEARCH: EUROPEAN PROJECT ON FOOD TRACEABILITY.
October 10, 2003... The traceability of foods, animal feed, food-producing animals and all other substances which are incorporated into foods or animal feedstuffs, is regulated in a detailed manner at EU level by Regulation 178/2002, which sets out the general...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: GM-RAPE AND BEET COULD HARM ENVIRONMENT, SAYS UK STUDY.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Field trials with genetically-modified oilseed rape and sugar beet have shown that they have a worse impact on the environment than conventional crops and should not be marketed commercially, according to a report in the British daily The...

PRODUCERS ALLOWED TO ACIDIFY WINE.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... The Commission has adopted a regulation that will permit winemakers in certain areas to increase the acidity of grapes and wine must to counteract the effects of the hot summer. Under Council Regulation 1493/1999, producers in Austria, Germany,...

COTTON PRODUCTION ESTIMATES FOR 2003/04 SHOW FALLING NUMBERS.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Estimates of unginned cotton production by the three growing Member States for the marketing year 2003/04 show that Greece has scaled back its cotton farming sector by over 100,000 tonnes compared to last year. Spanish production meanwhile is...

SEEDS: 2004/05 PRODUCTION AID FINALISED.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... The levels of EU subsidy available to seed producers in the marketing year 2004/05 has been decided upon by the European Commission. The aid is designed to allow EU seed producers to respond to internal market demand, without being undercut by...

FARM INCOMES: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT STUDY UPBEAT ON INCREASED REVENUE.
October 10, 2003... The average farm income in the EU has grown by 7% in real terms since 1995, although the agricultural sector in Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and especially the UK under-performed. This is one of the findings of the Dutch study on "the...

WINE: EU VINEYARDS HAVE SHRUNK BY 15.7% SINCE 1989.
October 10, 2003... The biggest declines were seen in Greece, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal, with a smaller fall in Spain. Consolidation in Germany meant that the number of holdings fell by over 11%, while area under vine actually increased. However,...

FINLAND KEEN TO RENEW DEROGATION ON FARM AID.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... A special derogation that allows Finland to pay livestock farmers and horticulturalists in its Southern regions an exceptional level of farm aid that is not tolerated elsewhere in the European Union will expire on December 31, 2003. The Finns...

FISHERIES: COMMISSION PROPOSES ACTION TO LIMIT FISHING IN THE MED.
October 10, 2003... In a technical briefing on October 9, experts from the Commission's Directorate-General for Fisheries outlined the case for these further measures to limit fishing and presented the broad approach. The measures concern only fishing in coastal...

CARREFOUR SLOVAKIA SIGNS CONTRACT FOR ORGANIC FLOUR.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Carrefour Slovensko, a member of the France-based multinational retail chain Carrefour, signed a long-term contract on October 2 with grain producers from regions in southern and western Slovakia. Slovak farmers will supply bio-flour to the...

PHILIP MORRIS CLEARED TO BUY GREEK CIGARETTE MAKER PAPASTRATOS.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... The European Commission gave the green light on October 3 for the Dutch subsidiary of Philip Morris to buy the manufacturing and distributing business of the Greek tobacco company Papastratos. Following an investigation, the Commission...

UK SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE GETS OUT OF PUB BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Brewers Scottish & Newcastle became the last of the major British brewers to quit the pub business on October 6 with the [pounds sterling]2.51bn (Euro 3.54 billion) sale of its pub estate to Spirit Amber. It brings to an end the move by big...

NUMICO MOVES HQ TO AMSTERDAM.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Dutch food group Numico NV said on October 7 that it will shift its corporate headquarters from near the Hague to Amsterdam next year to consolidate key departments in one office. Heavily indebted Numico, Europe's largest maker of baby formula,...

AHOLD DELAYS UNVEILING RECOVERY STRATEGY.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Dutch grocery giant Ahold will unveil an eagerly-awaited financing package - likely to include a Euro 2 billion rights issue and significant divestments - weeks later than anticipated, the embattled group said on October 6. The company,...

GRAND PAROISSE REPORTS DIMINISHING LOSSES.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... French fertiliser maker Grande Paroisse, a unit of oil giant Total, reported a narrower first-half net loss on October 5, and said it planned to close one of its plants due to tough market conditions. The company said in a statement that it...

GRIFFNER HAUS JV WITH IRISH STATE FORESTRY COMPANY.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... The Irish state forestry company has gone into a joint venture with Austria's Griffner Haus to design, manufacture and market timber-framed buildings in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Griffner Coilte was established last year following market...

LEHMAN LEANS TOWARDS HESS,REJECTING ALLIED DOMECQ.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Despite its higher offer, Allied Domecq PLC again was rejected as the preferred buyer of Peter Lehmann Wines Ltd. The Australian winemaker's three independent directors recommended that shareholders accept a rival bid of 3.85 Australian dollars...

POLISH MEAT PROCESSOR PPS AGROS KOSZALIN CRYING OUT FOR INVESTORS.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... Polish meat company PPM Agros Koszalin is calling for restructuring subsidies of up to 5 million Zloty (Euro 1.1 million) to double its production volume, a move it says would guarantee a profit and help lure an investor. Agros needs 80% of the...

AMERICAN-STYLE DOUGHNUTS LAND IN LONDON.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2003... The Krispy Kreme doughnut chain familiar to Americans opened its first European outlet in Harrods, London, on October 3, with plans to roll out 25 more outlets in the UK and Ireland over the next five years. Don Henshall, chief executive of...

FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS: COMMISSION PURSUES SWEDEN FOR ALCOHOL IMPORTS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The European Commission has dispatched reasoned opinions (stage two of infringement proceedings) to Sweden for hindering the free movement of goods within the Single Market, it announced on October 20. Sueden has two months to make amends or...

SWEETENERS: PARLIAMENT WANTS TO KEEP TABS ON MARKETING OF NEW PRODUCTS.
October 24, 2003... Regarding the re-assessment of all food additives, MEPs are demanding that the European Commission to report to Parliament on progress made in re-evaluating additives within two years of the Directive's entry into force, but nor before. The...

RESEARCH: TOWARDS A COMPROMISE ON EMBYONIC STEM CELLS?
October 24, 2003... As things stand, neither the EU's 6th Framework Research and Development Programme, nor the specific programme concerned ("Integrating and strengthening the European research area") clearly indicate the type of stem cell research that is...

WINE: DROUGHT DAMAGES 2003 WINE HARVEST IN CENTRAL EU COUNTRIES.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... "A big part of the fall in production is due to the drought, and certain holdings in the EU could have financial problems", said Cristina Rueda, COPA's wine expert. She explained that drought was the major culprit, although some Member States...

FARM PRICES: EU INDEX REGAINS LOST GROUND IN SECOND QUARTER.
October 24, 2003... Farm prices in the second quarter (Q2) of 2003 remained steady, with just a 0.1% drop compared to a year before, representing an improvement on the falls in Q1. However, farm costs (input prices) that were nearly 2% lower than in Q2 2002 meant...

GERMANY COMPENSATED FOR CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The European Commission has approved an advance payment of Euro 460,000 to Germany for the costs it incurred fighting an outbreak of Classical Swine Fever (CSF) in 2002. Germany has calculated that its full costs were around Euro 1.68 million,...

OLIVE SECTOR: PRODUCTION AND AID FIXED FOR 2002/03.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The European Commission has determined the EU's production of olive oil and table olives for the 2002/03 marketing year, as required under Regulation 1639/98/CE. This is necessary in order to work out how much to pay farmers in each Member...

CAP REFORM: STAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE LOOKS BEYOND MID-TERM REVIEW.
October 24, 2003... The conference organised in the European Parliament brought together many familiar faces from the debate on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from the first half of 2003. Under the chairmanship of Joseph Daul (EPP-ED, France), who...

LABOUR: FARM STRUCTURE FIGURES SHOW IMPORTANCE OF PART-TIME WORK.
October 24, 2003... As might be expected, southern Member States have a higher proportion of part-time workers than the Northern Member States. The figure ranges from 91% in Italy, 90% in Greece and 89% in Portugal to less than 55% in Belgium and the Netherlands....

SPAIN DROPS REQUEST TO PAY EURO 67.6 MILLION NUT AID.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The Spanish Government has withdrawn its request for permission to pay its nut growers Euro 67.6 million in national aid for the 2003/04 season in the face of insurmountable opposition from the Danish Parliament. Member States' diplomats...

EGGS: FIGHT IN COUNCIL OVER LABELLING BY FARMERS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The Council's Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) has run into problems while trying to thrash out a Regulation to update the rules on labelling eggs for marketing, currently contained in Regulation 1907/90/EEC. Member States' diplomats...

CONCERNS VOICED OVER TOBACCO REFORM PROPOSALS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The European Commission's proposal for reforming the EU's tobacco support regime came in for some flak when it was discussed by Member States' experts in the Special Committee on Agriculture on October 20. The broad outline of the reform...

EU/US: MINI-DEAL ON WINE POSSIBLE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The European Commission has told Member States' experts in the Special Committee on Agriculture that a deal with the United States on a mini-package of measures in the wine sector could be in the offing. A number of provisional agreements...

NEW PUBLICATION.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... "Europe and the US: Facts & Figures on Transatlantic Trade and Investment" AmCham EU, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, has just published its latest Figures on US-EU Economic Relationship, which it says is the most comprehensive...

FINNISH RAISIO COULD CLOSE GRAIN STARCH PLANT.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Finnish chemicals and food group Raisio said on October 23 that it may close its loss-making grain starch unit as part of the ongoing group restructuring, threatening 70 additional job cuts. The grain starch unit is estimated to have 2003...

HUNGARY'S GYULAI HUSKOMBINAT ACQUIRES NEW PLANT.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Hungary's Gyulai Huskombinat Rt has acquired the meat producer NAGISz Husuzem Kft of Nadudvar in a deal which is expected to boost Gyulai's planned 2004 sales of HUF 18 billion (Euro 70.27 million) to HUF 21bn (Euro 82 million). To bring the...

UK CO-OP BANS GM FOOD IN ITS SUPERMARKETS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Britain's Co-operative chain of supermarkets issued a ban on genetically-modified food across its entire business on October 21, in response to the fears of its customers. The food retailer - also Britain's largest farmer with 85,000 acres of...

UNILEVER SALES HIT BY ATKINS DIET.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Unilever cut its sales forecast for the second time in four months on October 20, after the Atkins diet wooed more dieters away from its SlimFast products. Shares fell more than 7 per cent after the surprise trading update, which came nine days...

MONSANTO LEAVES EUROPE LICKING ITS WOUNDS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The lobby against genetically-modified crops was claiming victory on October 16, after biotechnology giant Monsanto decided to pull out of the European cereal seed business. The US-based GM pioneer announced its intention "to exit from its...

ROYAL NUMICO GETS OUT OF VITAMIN BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Dutch baby-food maker Royal Numico NV has said it will sell American vitamin retailer General Nutrition Cos. to private investment firm Apollo Management LP for $750 million (Euro 636 million). The move, announced on October 17, comes as Numico...

LAURENT-PERRIER AND CHATEAU MALAKOFF IN CHAMPAGNE MERGER.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... French champagne houses Laurent-Perrier and Chateau Malakoff said on October 16 they had agreed to merge in a deal to be finalised early next year. The two houses toasted the deal in a joint statement and said it would boost Laurent-Perrier's...

COURT FINDS DUTCH LAURUS SUPERMARKET CHAIN IRRESPONSIBLE.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... A Dutch court said on October 16 that retailer Laurus acted irresponsibly when it botched a revamp of its Dutch supermarkets, and judges ordered a further probe into the period when it held takeover talks with French rival Casino. The ruling,...

ARLA UK AND EXPRESS DAIRIES MERGER APPROVED.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... The UK Government said on October 15 that it, too, had cleared plans by Danish dairy co-operative Arla UK to merge with Express Dairies Plc to create Britain's biggest supplier of fresh milk. After the European Commission cleared the deal, the...

ITALIAN BANKS MAY COMPENSATE CIRIO INVESTORS.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2003... Italian banks, under fire for selling Euro 1 billion worth of bonds in now-insolvent food company Cirio to small investors, may be looking for a way to make amends, according to a Reuters report on October 13. Prosecutors are investigating...