Europe Agri articles from October 2004

Europe Agri archives from October 2004

BREWERS OF EUROPE AND EUROPEAN FOOD FEDERATION ENHANCE CO-OPERATION.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The Brewers of Europe and EFFAT, the European Federation of the Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions, held a conference on October 6 with a view to enhancing the co-operation between both organisations. Considering the significant...

EU RULES ON OCHRATOXIN-A EXTENDED TO COFFEE, WINE AND GRAPE JUICE.(European Union)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Maximum levels of ochratoxin A will be set for coffee, wine and grape juice following a vote by an panel of EU Member State experts to amend an existing EU Regulation. Ochratoxin A is a type of mycotoxin - a poisonous substance produced by...

MEMBER STATES APPROVE NEW RULES ON PAH LEVELS IN FOOD.(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Maximum levels are to be set at EU level in foods for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and in particular benzo(a)pyrene, following an October 13 vote by the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. PAHs such as...

DISAPPOINTING RECORD FOR 10-YEAR-OLD EUROPEAN ECO-LABEL.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Only three products covered by the European environmental label system, Eco-label, are considered to be of good quality (shoes, soil improvers and washing-up detergents). Two products (mattresses and dishwashers) scored a mixed "good/mediocre"...

STRUCTURAL FUNDS CAN CO-FINANCE PLASTICS RECYCLING.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... "Structural Funds can be used to co-finance projects to recycle plastics if the programming documents provide for waste related actions.o The European Commission was responding to a question from an Italian Member of the European Parliament...

NEWS IN BRIEF.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The European Confederation of Agriculture (CEA) merged with EU farmers' and agricultural co-operatives' association COPA-COGECA on October 4. CEA, which was founded in Switzerland in 1948, grouped up to 300 organisations from all over Europe,...

TIMBER: FAO SAYS WOOD PRODUCTION WILL SHIFT TO THE EAST IN THE NEXT DECADE.(Food and Agriculture Organisation)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Eastern boom. While production and consumption of forest products are expected to increase in Western Europe at about the same rate as in the last decade, they are set to grow in Eastern Europe at a rate two to three times faster than in...

FAO SAYS THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY COULD COMPROMISE FOOD SECURITY.(Food and Agriculture Organisation )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Threats to the world's biological diversity could severely compromise global food security, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Rome-based Organisation says biodiversity, which is the theme of this year's World...

FAO TO LAUNCH GLOBAL PROJECT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has put the finishing touches to a multi-stakeholder project to support mountain people around the world. The four-year project, to be launched in early 2005, should mobilise up to US$6 million...

EU FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRY COURTS JAPANESE MARKET.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Food and drink companies from ten EU countries courted Japanese interest during a recent Trade Mission to Tokyo organised in the framework of the European Commission programme "EU Gateway to Japan". The companies from Belgium, Finland, France,...

PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON SIMPLIFYING PRE-ACCESSION AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... At its October 14 meeting, the European Parliament will be voting on a non-binding legislative Resolution on a Council proposal to revise the mechanism on Community support for pre-accession agricultural support (known as SAPARD) in the...

NEWS IN BRIEF.(European Union on Canadian poultry imports )
October 14, 2004... The EU will finally end all restrictions on Canadian poultry imports on October 1. Birds, eggs and poultry products from the Fraser Valley area of British Columbia were banned in March 2004 following an outbreak of Avian Influenza in the area....

NEW PUBLICATION:.(Book Review)
October 14, 2004... EUROSTAT YEARBOOK 2004 Which Member States have the highest number of women agricultural workers? How many cows are there in the EU-15? Which Member State has the highest land area for growing cereal? What is the revenue from farming...

CALENDAR OF AUTUMN/WINTER EVENTS.(Calendar)
October 14, 2004... OCTOBER 15 World Rural Women's Day. 16 FAO World Food Day. http://www.fao.org/wfd/index_en.asp 17 - 19 Strasbourg, France - European Farmers Congress 2005: oEuropean agriculture in the worldo. http://www.copa-cogeca.be 17 -...

CARREFOUR'S QUARTERLY RESULTS DISAPPOINT.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... French retailing group Carrefour has announced that its turnover rose by a lower-than-expected 2.9 per cent, to Euro 20.31 billion, in the third quarter of 2004. As a result, the group has now scrapped its forecast of 5 per cent growth in...

GERMAN PREMIUM WINES PRODUCERS SET FOR A STRONG YEAR.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... German premium wine producers expect strong financial results in 2004 due to the favourable weather and the increased demand for red wines, Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, president of the association of Germany's top wine estates VDP, said on...

DANONE IN THE RUNNING FOR SERBIAN MINERAL WATER ACQUISITION.(Knjaz Milos)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The French food group Danone has made a bid for 72 per cent of the capital of Serbia's leading mineral water company Knjaz Milos. A rival offer for the Serbian firm has come from a UK speculative fund.

OBESITY: AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY URGED TO TAKE PREVENTIVE ACTION.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... The experts say there are a good many sugar-flavoured agri-food products whose simple sugar content could easily be reduced without having any impact on the texture or functional characteristics of the food product. Food products intended...

SPIRITS: ORGANIC COGNAC SETS OUT TO CONQUOR COMMUNITY MARKET.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Whilst demand for organic alcohol remains subdued in France, organic cognac is believed to have a market abroad. With the exception of a few specialist shops and delicatessens, few retailers stock green spirits, which cost between 20 and 30%...

TAXATION: COMMISSION TAKES SWEDEN TO COURT OVER TAX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WINE.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Both wine and beer are taxed in Sweden according to their final alcohol content by volume. But while beer above 2.8% is taxed at 147 Swedish Kronor (SKr) per hectolitre per degree of alcohol, the tax for wine between 8.5% and 15% is SKr 2,208...

POLISH FOOD EXPORTS TO EU TOP EURO 2 BILLION.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Poland is becoming one of the EU's leading food producers, just months after it joined the trade bloc. It exported some Euro 2.1 billion of agricultural products to the rest of the European Union in the first eight months of 2004, according to...

NEW EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER CHOOSES HER CABINET.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Word has trickled out about the composition of the Cabinet of Mariann Fischer-Boel, the Commissioner-Designate for Agriculture. Her team, which is to be headed by the Dane Claus Haugaard Sorensen, looks like it will include a number of seasoned...

INDUSTRY LOBBY SHARES "SERIOUS CONCERNS" ON EU FISH POLICY WITH JOE BORG.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... European fishing industry lobbies Europeche and COGECA Fisheries shared their "serious concerns" with Joe Borg, the Commissioner-designate for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs during a meeting on October 14. Europeche President Niels Wichmann...

NEWS IN BRIEF.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... A new European initiative will promote youth activities and projects relating to forest-based industries. Non-commercial projects regarded as being of high quality will be allowed to use the "Wood & Paper - Opportunities for Generations" label....

CROP TRUST CREATED TO CONSERVE PLANT DIVERSITY.(International Plant Genetic Resources Institute)(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... The Global Crop Diversity Trust, a new international organisation aiming to preserve the earth's agricultural biodiversity, was established on October 21. The organisation is a joint initiative of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation...

NORWAY SHOULD REDUCE AGRICULTURAL TARIFFS, SAYS WTO REPORT.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Norway's high agricultural tariffs should be reduced in order to contribute to better resource allocation in the country, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) says in a new review of Norway's trade policy. The October 13 review "commends Norway...

MORE PROTECTED AREAS AND PLANTED FORESTS IN LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN BY 2020.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Less natural forest cover, but more protected areas and forest plantations can be expected in Latin American and Caribbean countries by the year 2020. This is the conclusion of a study to be published at the end of 2004 by the UN Food and...

FISHERIES: FAO RECEIVES SWEDISH PRIZE FOR WORK ON SUSTAINABLE FISHING.(Food and Agriculture Agency)(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... The UN's Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) has been awarded the Swedish Seafood Award for its work on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, whose aim is to promote global and regional cooperation in the fishing industry. According to...

EU/BALKANS: QUOTAS MUST BE IMPOSED ON SUGAR IMPORTS, SAYS COMMISSION.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... The introduction of quotas is all the more urgent in view of the imminent reform of the EU's sugar sector, which will lead to a sharp lowering of sugar prices in Europe and is likely to cause a strong recession in the EU's sugar industry....

NEWS IN BRIEF.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Emergency EU aid of Euro 25.5 million will be provided to help tackle a locust plague in West Africa affecting Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, the European Commission announced on October 8. The programme will be implemented by the...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN AUTUMN 2004.(Calendar)
October 28, 2004... NOVEMBER 2 - 4 Maastricht, the Netherlands - BIOnale 2004. http://www. bionale.org 8 - 9a Berlin, Germany - European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Advisory Forum Event: Creating a European network to enhance risk assessments forathe...

NEW PUBLICATIONS.
October 28, 2004... "The Common Agricultural Policy Explained" The European Commission has published a new brochure entitled "The Common Agricultural Policy Explained". It targets the general public and aims to explain in concrete terms what the CAP is, its...

ICELANDIC SEAFOOD GROUP PLANS TO BUY FRENCH SALMON AND FOIE GRAS PRODUCER.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Icelandic seafood group ISF has announced plans to buy Labeyrie, France's biggest producer of smoked salmon and foie gras, for Euro 332 million. Labeyrie, which is indirectly controlled by Swedish private equity firm Industri Kapital, achieved...

DANONE TO EXPAND INTO TURKISH DAIRY AND WATER MARKETS.(DANONE Group)(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... French food group Danone plans to expand into the Turkish dairy product and bottled water markets, it was announced on October 25, 2004. Serpil Timuray, the director general of Danone Tikvesli Gida reported that Danone will shortly introduce...

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO REPORTS 60% RISE IN PROFITS.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) announced a 60% increase in third-quarter net profit on 26 October 2004, thanks partly to lower taxation charges. The British-based maker of Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Pall Mall said it earned Euro 609...

DANES REPORT RECORD LEVEL OF SLAUGHTER PIGS.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Production of slaughter pigs in Denmark will drop to a record level of 25 million pigs in 2005, Danish pig producers announced on October 26, 2004. The number of slaughter pigs stood at 13.3 million at the end of September 2004, down by 100,000...