Agra Europe back issues from October 2006:
Fischer Boel hints at CAP change as part of simplification agenda.(European Policy News)(Mariann Fischer Boel )(Common Agricultural Policy )
Oct 06, 2006 ... Set-aside, partial decoupling and cereals intervention could all become history in the coming years as part of a Commission plan to simplify the operation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel indicated on Tuesday. But she ...
MEPs attack voluntary modulation.(European Policy News)(member of the european parliament)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... MEPs voiced resounding opposition to current proposals for voluntary modulation this week, with the adoption of a report which formally rejects the European Commission's current plans. The report, put forward by German Christian Democrat Lutz Goepel in the Agriculture Committee ...
Chirac calls for CAP funding to stay.(European Policy News)(Jacques Chirac)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The CAP subsidy system should remain unchanged until 2013--and farming should remain "at the heart" of European policy beyond that date, according to French President Jacques Chirac. Speaking to farmers at an agricultural fair in Cournond'Auvergne on Thursday, Chirac said that ...
Ten member states owe milk superlevy totalling 377m [euro].(European Policy News)(Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Portugal)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Ten EU member states exceeded their milk quotas in 2005/06, triggering superlevy payments worth a total of 377 million [euro], the European Commission announced on Tuesday. The Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Portugal exceeded their ...
EU's GM ban was illegal, says WTO.(Genetically modified crops)(World Trade Organization)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The European Union's ban on genetically modified (GM) crops was illegal, the World Trade Organisation has confirmed in a final report. But it seems unlikely that the ruling will have any great impact on Brussels' approvals process for GMOs. The report backed ...
EU gets tough on rules for GM rice testing.(European Policy News)(European Food Safety Authority)
Oct 06, 2006 ... All EU imports of rice from the United States will have to be tested by member states for the presence of unauthorised genetically modified (GM) rice strain LL601, the European Commission confirmed this week. The decision was taken after the Dutch discovered traces of LL601 ...
Mandelson sets out new free trade agenda.(European Policy News)(Peter Mandelson )(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Open, global markets are the key to successful growth in Europe, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson stated on Tuesday. Launching a new competitive trade agenda, Mandelson reiterated his belief that the Doha Round remained the EU's priority in trade policy, but said that other ...
EU agrees Romania/Bulgaria swine fever plan.(European Policy News)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Romania's strategy for wiping out classical swine fever was given the green light on Tuesday, after proposals for eradication and emergency vaccines were endorsed by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) in Brussels. Under the new plans, which form ...
EU to check up on food safety in Brazil.(European Policy News)
Oct 06, 2006 ... A European Commission delegation is to visit Brazil next week in order to review food safety measures for exports, amid concerns in Europe that some products fall below EU standards. EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou will meet Brazilian Foreign ...
State aid changes could cut disease compensation.(European Policy News)(animals slaughtered for diseases)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The European Commission has come under fire this week for proposed changes to its state aid rules which could see the amount of compensation farmers receive for the compulsory destruction of animals reduced by 25%. According to a recent draft of the regulation, seen by Agra ...
EU bans curd cheese from UK dairy.(European Policy News)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Curd cheese produced by UK-based Bowland Dairy Products Ltd is to be banned from sale on EU markets, and any that is currently in circulation must be traced and destroyed, the European Commission announced on Friday. In the first such case of its kind, the Commission introduced ...
MEPs at odds over vodka definition.(European Policy News)(members of european parliament)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Vodka can be made from any agricultural raw material as long as the label indicates the substance of origin, according to a first draft report put forward to the European Parliament by its Environment Committee on Wednesday. According to the paper, which was presented by German ...
Towards 2013: commission paves the way for future CAP reform.(Analysis)(Common Agricultural Policy)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The past decade and a half has seen an almost continual flow of initiatives to reform the Common Agricultural Policy--but there is absolutely no sign that the European Commission is planning to ease off on CAP reform in the years to come. On the contrary, the clear signals ...
UK crops, cattle and sheep numbers down.(UK)(Welsh June census figures )
Oct 06, 2006 ... With the publication of the Welsh June census figures (see below), provisional results for the whole of the UK have been made available by the London agriculture department, Defra (see table). These show a decline in the areas of all the major crops, apart from potatoes and fodder maize, ...
Welsh sheep numbers down, cattle up.(UK)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Provisional results from the June 2006 agricultural census, released on Tuesday by the Welsh Assembly, show a 2% decline in the national sheep flock. By contrast, the total number of cattle grew by 5%, compared with June 2005 (see table overleaf). The total number of sheep and ...
UK farmers reinvest after SFP problems.(UK)
Oct 06, 2006 ... English farmers are beginning to reinvest in their businesses now that the uncertainty created by Single Farm Payment (SFP) delays is behind them, a new survey for NatWest Bank suggests. The independent survey of nearly 500 agricultural businesses in England and Wales found that ...
UK organic milk producers 'need higher prices'.(UK)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The boom in the organic milk market in the UK could be at risk unless prices rise to meet farmers' costs, a leading organic cooperative has warned. The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo) commented that organic milk production had risen over the past year in response to ...
Banned hormone found in Dutch calves.(NETHERLANDS)(Dutch ministry of agriculture inspection service)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Dutch ministry of agriculture's inspection service, AID, has halted the movement of calves on and off 25 farms following the discovery of a banned growth promoting hormone in eight calves, AgriHolland reports. The farms--24 in Gelderland and one in North Limburg--are all ...
Bluetongue disease still spreading.(BENELUX/GERMANY)(cases of bluetongue disease )(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... By Wednesday this week, Belgium had recorded a total of 177 cases of bluetongue disease (84 in sheep, 93 in cattle), and the Netherlands had 123 confirmed cases. The total in Germany was over 90, and four have been discovered in France. Following new cases in the Netherlands ...
New law to combat meat scandals.(DENMARK)(disease outbreaks)(Danish Meat Association)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Danish consumer affairs minister, Lars Barfoed, has announced proposals for a new law that will further tighten up rules within the meat industry, which has been hit by several scandals concerning sales of outdated meat this year. Introducing a 'zero-tolerance plan' in March, ...
German ministers call for end to food price wars.(GERMANY)(campaign for an end to price slashing by food retailers)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... German federal and regional agriculture ministers have united to campaign for an end to price slashing by food retailers. At the close of a ministerial conference in Deidesheim last Friday, federal farm minister Horst Seehofer said so-called 'junk sales' of meat and other foodstuffs must ...
Sweden gets new farm minister.(SWEDEN)(Eskil Erlandsson)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Eskil Erlandsson, of the farm-based Swedish Centre Party, has been chosen as agriculture minister in the new centre-right coalition government that has been voted in after twelve years of centre-left rule. New Conservative Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced his cabinet ...
Ireland urged to use more biofuel.(IRELAND)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... A report by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) claims the Irish economy could gain from a greater reliance on agriculture to produce energy crops. Ireland has a disproportionate reliance on imported energy, at close to 90% against an EU average closer to 50%, the IFA says. ...
Irish caterers ignore beef label rules.(IRELAND)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has dismissed Ireland's beef labelling scheme for hotels and restaurants as "an utter fiasco" and a disappointment for farmers and consumers. After the EU failed to make country of origin labelling mandatory in catering ...
Greek farmers accuse dairies of forming cartel.(Greek Cattle Breeders' Association )
Oct 06, 2006 ... Europe's milk price squeeze is affecting producers in Greece, who claim they are not meeting their costs. This has led to claims of a milk processing cartel. The Greek Cattle Breeders' Association (CBA) says it supplied data to the Competition Commission in early June, showing ...
Slovenia's sole sugar refinery to close this year.(SLOVENIA)(bioethanol production from sugar beet)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Slovenia's sole sugar refinery is to cease processing sugar after the end of this year's campaign, Jurij Dogsa, director of the Tovarna Sladkorja Ormoz refinery, announced this week. The company, which is owned by Dutch consortium Cosun and Italy's SFIR, is ending sugar ...
Farmers may vote on CWB's future.(Canadian Wheat Board)(Survey)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), the world's largest marketer of wheat and barley, wants farmers to vote on its fate "as soon as possible," the marketing agency's chief executive said this week. "I feel the best thing to do is move forward with the plebiscite. Let farmers decide ...
Global grain plantings 'must rise' to address growing deficit.(Markets)(Global grain production)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Global grain production and areas must expand massively if the market is to cope with increased demand, particularly from the biofuel industry, Dan Basse, president of the US-based AgResource company said on Thursday. Speaking at the Global Grain 2006 conference in Geneva, he ...
EU grain markets supported by biofuel boom.(Markets)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The current bullish tone of global grain markets will remain for years to come, mainly due to the biofuel boom, according to Klaus Schumacher of Hamburg-based trading firm Toepfer International. Speaking to delegates at the Global Grain 2006 conference in Geneva on Thursday, he ...
US wheat futures rise to fresh 10-year highs.(Markets)(United States department of Agriculture)
Oct 06, 2006 ... US wheat futures soared to their highest level since the mid-1990s this week, as concerns over drought in some areas coincided with a surge in trading activity. The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade futures price rose by close to its daily maximum on Wednesday to close at $4.65 ...
Ukraine introduces licences for grain exports.(Markets)(licensing for grain exports)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Ukrainian government has decided to introduce licensing for grain exports, in a move to step up the reliability of supplies to the domestic market. But the move is expected to add further fuel to an already jumpy global grains market. Analysts in Ukraine said the ...
Market braced for record US soya crop.(soybeans consumption forecasted)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Ideal 'finishing' weather and better than expected yields from early harvested crops are promoting some startling estimates of US 2006 soyabean production. Late last week, trader FC Stone forecast a record 3.266bn bushels (88.9m tonnes) compared with USDA's last forecast of ...
Argentinean crops suffering despite end to drought.(production of wheat affected by droughts)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Persistent drought in key Argentine farming areas has damaged wheat crops, but showers this week have alleviated the situation a little, according to Argentine sources. The rainfall this week has revived yield prospects in some area of the country--but it came too late to save ...
Russian grain harvest estimate unchanged at 73mt.(Markets)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Russia has maintained its official grain harvest estimate for 2006 at 73mt--allowing the country to export as much as 10 million tonnes to the world market in 2006/07, according to agriculture minister Alexei Gordeyev. Speaking in Moscow on Tuesday, Gordeyev said grain ...
Russia to begin state intervention buying.(Markets)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Russian government has said it will begin state purchasing of milling wheat on October 6--but only in certain regions. A farm ministry official said the purchases will be made in Siberia and the Urals, with the aim of spurring grain prices in these prices, which are lagging ...
Coceral forecasts 5% dip in 2006 EU grain harvest.(Markets)(latest harvest forecast)
Oct 06, 2006 ... This year's heatwave across Europe is set to lead to a 5% drop in the EU-25 grain harvest this year as compared with 2005, according to the latest harvest forecast issued by EU grain traders' association Coceral. The organisation is currently pegging total output at just under ...
Further cut in Spanish grain harvest estimate.(Markets)(Spain Ministry of Agriculture)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Spain's Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) has lowered its annual crop harvest estimate once again to 14.539mt, according to the most recent official figures--down by 500 000t on the previous forecast. MAPA attributes this fall to extremely high temperatures in Spain over the summer ...
India to restrict private wheat imports.(Markets)(International Food Policy Research Institute)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... The Indian government has decided to bar private companies from making duty-free wheat imports from the start of next year, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said. "There is no need to extend duty-free private imports beyond the end of the year, since it is our aim to go ...
EU grain exports in Jun-Sep unchanged from last year.(Markets)(grain exports and imports)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Total grain exports from the European Union in the first three months of the 2006-07 marketing year amounted to 4.386 million tonnes, according to European Commission figures. This was virtually unchanged on the same period in 2005/06, although the breakdown between grain types ...
French calf market remains under pressure.(Markets)(French Livestock Board)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Prices are falling on the French calf market--for both veal and beef breeding animals. The summer is never a good period for sales, but this trend has continued into the autumn and no change is anticipated in October, Les Marches reports. With consumption limited, supply ...
Russian meat output up by 4% in Q1-3 2006.(Markets)(Federal State Statistics Service )
Oct 06, 2006 ... Russia's meat production rose by 4% on the year in January-September, agriculture minister Alexei Gordeyev said this week. Gordeyev did not produce any absolute figures, although the Federal State Statistics Service had earlier reported that Russia's meat output stood at around ...
Argentina further eases meat export restrictions.(Markets)(restrictions on beef exports)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Argentina has announced a further easing of the restrictions which it had imposed on beef exports in March, in an attempt to control rising prices on the domestic market. Economy minister Felisa Miceli said that she would allow exports of up to 70% of the volume of meat ...
Australia to resume livestock exports to Egypt.(Markets)(Australia and Egypt have signed two memorandums of understanding )(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Australia and Egypt have signed two memorandums of understanding (MOU) paving the way for a resumption of Australian livestock exports to Egypt following their suspension earlier this year. Australian agriculture minister, Peter McGauran, who signed the MOUs on Australia's ...
S Korean cattle herd expands.(Markets)(consumer demand for home-grown beef)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... South Korea's beef cattle herd has increased sharply this year, to a seven-year high of 2.02 million head, up 3.2% in the latest quarterly comparison, Meatingplace reports. The herd has increased by 37% since 2003, when imports of US beef were banned after the discovery of the ...
Mexico opens market to US dairy heifers.(Markets)(Bovine spongiform encephalopathy)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... US agriculture secretary Mike Johanns announced on October 4 that Mexico will resume imports of US dairy heifers under 24 months of age. "I am pleased with this first step in re-establishing cattle trade with Mexico, but I remain committed to a broader resumption of cattle trade ...
Commodity prices: week 40--ending Oct 6 2006.(Markets)(wheat futures prices )(Statistical table)
Oct 06, 2006 ... <Pre> Commodity Prices: Week 40--Ending Oct 6 2006 CBOT maize prices (US cents/56lb bushel) opening 18/09/2006247.5 19/09/2006247.5 20/09/2006247.5 21/09/2006254.5 22/09/2006255.75 25/09/2006253.25 26/09/2006256.75 27/09/2006256.5 ...
Sugar (Oct 5).(Management Committee News)(Imports of sugar in cocoa products)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Export tender awards: The Commission awarded licences for a total of 42 500 at a maximum refund of 337.50 [euro]/t. Periodic refunds: These were set at 28.75 [euro]/100 kg for white sugar and 26.45 [euro]/100 kg for raw sugar.-- Sales from intervention: The following ...
Cereals (Oct 5).(Management Committee News)(Spanish import tender)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2006 ... Export tender adjudication: Bids to export 68 000 tonnes of open market common wheat were accepted at zero refund. The following bids were accepted for intervention grains: * Hungarian intervention wheat: 61496t at a minimum selling price of 127.25 [euro]/t; * ...
CAP price conversion forecasts.(Management Committee News)(Statistical table)(Statistical table)
Oct 06, 2006 ... <Pre> Changes in CAP prices (%)UK (a) Sweden (a) Oct 2 -2.90 -0.25 Oct 3 -3.43 -0.31 Oct 4 -3.42 -0.35 Oct 5 -3.16 -0.70 Oct 6f -3.09 -0.91Poland (b)...
Cattle, pigmeat and sheepmeat representative prices ([euro]/100kg).(Management Committee News)(Statistical table)(Statistical table)
Oct 06, 2006 ... <Pre> Cattle, pigmeat and sheepmeat representative prices ([euro]/100kg)CattlePigmeat01.10.06 24.09.06 01.10.06 24.09.06 (week 39)(week 38)(week 39)(week 38) ...
Feed ingredient prices at October 5, 2006 (shipment dates cif Rotterdam unless stated).(Management Committee News)(Feed industry)(Statistical table)
Oct 06, 2006 ... <Pre> Feed ingredient prices at October 5, 2006 (shipment dates cif Rotterdam unless stated) Corn gluten Soymeal pellets feed pellets Argentine (1) cif transit ...
EU opens legal action against UK as dairy trade row escalates.(Bowland Dairy Products Ltd.)
Oct 13, 2006 ... The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against the UK, asking why national food safety authorities did not ensure the correct application of EU law at Bowland, the condemned UK dairy company. The Commission banned Bowland Dairy Products Ltd from selling ...
No CAP budget cuts before 2013--Fischer Boel.(European Policy News)(Common Agricultural Policy )
Oct 13, 2006 ... EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel clarified this week that she will not accept budget cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as part of the general EU budget review in 2009. However, she reinforced the message that further reform of European farm policy is ...
Lamy eyes new Doha deal timetable.(Pascal Lamy, WTO chief)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... WTO chief Pascal Lamy said this week that he believes the 'window of opportunity' for the conclusion of the Doha Round is "somewhere between November and springtime"--a view which chimes with that already expressed by the EU. Speaking to the WTO General Council on Tuesday, Lamy ...
MEPs urge speedy end to Mercosur trade talks.(European Policy News)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... The trade talks between the European Union and the Mercosur group (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) should be concluded as soon as possible, the European Parliament said on Thursday. MEPs voted in this week's plenary session in Brussels to back a report calling for the ...
Deadline for EPA trade deals "will not be met".(Economic Partnership Agreements)
Oct 13, 2006 ... Free trade agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations will not be signed off by the end of the year as agreed within the 2000 Cotonou Agreement, one negotiator claimed on Thursday. A deal on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)--initiated in ...
New rules for maize intervention blocked.(European Policy News)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... A draft Regulation to tighten up the rules governing maize intervention has been blocked, the European Commission said on Thursday. The EU cereals management committee agreed at the end of September to tighten the rules for buying maize into intervention, in an attempt to tackle ...
'Price gradient' needed in EU grain market.(European Policy News)
Oct 13, 2006 ... A radical reform of the EU's grain intervention system is necessary to overcome the inherent inefficiency of the European grain distribution chain, a UK consultant claimed on Tuesday. Speaking at the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) annual conference in London (see also ...
EU fails to agree on CAP transparency.(European Policy News)(Common Agricultural Policy)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... The European Commission's drive to be more open in revealing to the outside world who receives what from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was thwarted this week when EU diplomats failed to agree on the issue. Respondents to the Commission's consultation on the Transparency ...
MEPs urge soft fruit import curbs.(European Policy News)(members of parliament)
Oct 13, 2006 ... Imports of soft fruits into the EU from countries outside its borders should be restricted by the European Commission, the European Parliament said on Thursday. MEPs voted in favour of a resolution to stop excessive imports of soft fruits and cherries entering the EU to protect ...
Sweet profits for garlic smugglers.(European Policy News)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... Chinese garlic smuggling ranks among the top three most prevalent problems being investigated by the European Anti Fraud Office (OLAF) involving illegal trade with agricultural products from non-EU countries, it was revealed this week. According to OLAF, which co-hosted a ...
EU boosts cash for fight against animal disease.(European Policy News)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... The fight against animal diseases in the EU will be boosted with a 193 million [euro] cash injection in 2007, revealed the European Commission on Thursday. The money will be spent on 155 eradication and monitoring projects of diseases which are potentially dangerous to animal ...
MEPs back stricter animal welfare.(European Policy News)(members of parliament)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2006 ... Strict animal welfare measures, such as those proposed in the EU's new Community Action Plan, need to be introduced not only in Europe but throughout the rest of the world, the European Parliament said during its plenary session in Brussels this week. The Parliament backed the ...
EU to launch fresh assault on Austrian GM ban.(European Policy News)(genetically modified crops)
Oct 13, 2006 ... EU member states will be given another chance to vote on whether Austria must lift its ban on the marketing of two types of genetically modified (GM) maize, the European Commission announced this week. In line with its legal obligation to enforce existing rules relating to GM ...
Czech farm leader urges GM crop strategy for EU.(European Policy News)(Miroslav Jirovsky encourages use of genetically modified crops)
Oct 13, 2006 ... Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are necessary if the European Union is to have any chance of competing with low-cost production countries, according to Miroslav Jirovsky, President of the Czech Republic Agriculture Association (Zemtedelsky Svaz). Farmers in the Czech ...