The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
EU seeking tougher controls against salmonella threat
EUROFILE: EU farm commissioner also issues assurance on cereal availability post-Brexit
After an inspection by EU veterinary officials, the focus appears to coming off problems in the Brazilian beef industry.
Instead officials have underlined concerns about the threat from salmonella in poultry, seeking tougher controls including inspection before export to the EU.
They are also reportedly pressing for a ban on all Brazilian horse meat exports, on grounds of poor hygiene standards.
However, after carrying out inspections at a number of beef processing plants involved in the recent meat scandal, they are said to have found no cause for major concern, and seem happy to allow trade to continue.
However for now the controls put in place in March on beef, as well as poultry, will continue.
The EU farm commissioner, Phil Hogan, has reassured the European livestock feed industry that Brexit will not affect the availability of cereals in Europe.
This is despite the industry having a traditional reliance on exports from the UK to meet demand.
The commissioner told an industry conference the EU could meet this demand, if trade with the UK was affected by a hard Brexit decision.
Spain in particular relies on UK exports, which account for around 14% of wheat and 5% of barely usage.
Hogan said with the EU a net exporter of wheat, to the tune of around 24 million tonnes, along with five million tonnes of barley from the EU 27 member states, supplies would be adequate if the UK could not trade without punitive duties.
Hogan, however, remains confident that a trade accord will be reached between the UK and EU 27.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is forecasting a bumper trade in pigmeat this year.
It says trade will rise by 4% to reach a new record of 8.6m tonnes.
Good news for farmers, in terms of prices, is that demand is booming at a time when global production has dropped by around 1%.
China is the main driver of this growth.
It has taken over from Japan as the world’s biggest pigmeat importer, partly because tougher environmental regulations have forced the closure of a number of production plants.
The United States is well placed to benefit from this increase in demand.
Pig numbers in Europe remain low, after a big cut in sow numbers as producers responded to low prices in 2015.
Brazil, Mexico and Canada are also well placed to gain from an increase in Chinese imports, likely to be around 12%.
The European Commission is joining forces with a number of international agencies to launch a new early warning system for crop problems.
It will use a range of data, including weather details, to identify possible hotspots for agricultural problems, such as poor crop yields or diseases.
Around 80 countries will be monitored, and reports will be compiled every 10 days during the growing season.
Reports can be at a national or regional level. As ever the name is all important. The new early warning system will be known as Asap, standing for Anomaly Hotspots of Agricultural Production.