EUROPA ORIENTAL - Ministério da Agricultura

Transcription

RELATÓRIO DE VIAGEM
EUROPA ORIENTAL
MINISTÉRIO DA AGRICULTURA, PECUÁRIA E ABASTECIMENTO
26 A 30 DE MARÇO DE 2012
ENTREVISTAS CONCEDIDAS
- Voz do Brasil
- Financial Times
- Record Internacional
- Bloomblerg
Teleconferência do ministro Mendes Ribeiro Filho de Moscou (30/3)
- Agência Estado
- Agência Brasil
- Agência Safras e Mercado
- Agência Bloomberg
- TV Globo/TV Morina
- Canal do Boi
- Correio Braziliense
- Correio do Povo
CLIPPING
Portal Exame
22/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro vai a Rússia tentar solução para embargo
Ministro vai ao país europeu para discutir embargo à carne brasileira
Brasília – O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à Rússia na
próxima semana para discutir o embargo russo à carne brasileira. O embargo
teve início em junho de 2011 e afeta todos os frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul,
Paraná e de Mato Grosso.
Segundo o Ministério da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro vai se reunir com a
ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, no dia 30 de março, “com o
objetivo de apresentar o perfeito cumprimento das normas sanitárias exigidas
pelas autoridades russas nos frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e Mato
Grosso para a retomada imediata da comercialização”.
O secretário de Defesa Agropecuária, Enio Marques, chegará a Moscou dois
dias antes do ministro para agilizar a negociação e resolver as pendências
técnicas com as autoridades sanitárias russas. Mendes Ribeiro esteve pela
primeira vez com Yelena Skrynnik em janeiro. Na época, ele disse ter
percebido a disposição da ministra em resolver o impasse, mas a expectativa
era que uma solução final viesse apenas após as eleições presidenciais na
Rússia, que ocorreram no início do mês, com a vitória de Vladimir Putin.
Estadão
22/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro vai à Rússia discutir fim do embargo da carne
Ministro da Agricultura viaja para a Moscou para discutir a retirada dos entraves
à importação de carnes brasileiras, impostos pelas autoridades sanitárias
russas em junho
BRASÍLIA - O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viaja para Moscou
na próxima semana para discutir a retirada dos entraves à importação de
carnes brasileiras, impostos pelas autoridades sanitárias russas em junho do
ano passado. Alegando "questões técnicas", os russos suspenderam as
importações de carnes de frigoríficos situados no Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e
Mato Grosso.
Na sexta-feira da próxima semana (30), Mendes Ribeiro tem encontro marcado
com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, quando irá entregar
o relatório sobre o cumprimento das normas sanitárias exigidas pelas
autoridades russas nos três Estados embargados, a fim de conseguir a
retomada imediata da comercialização. Ele adiantou que recebeu a
confirmação da liberação de mais uma planta que está sobre embargo
provisório.
Segundo o Ministério da Agricultura, para agilizar as negociações e resolver as
pendências técnicas que ainda barram o comércio de carnes dos três estados
com a Rússia, o secretário de Defesa Agropecuária, Enio Marques, chegará
em Moscou dois dias antes do ministro. Marques realizará as primeiras
reuniões com as autoridades russas e deverá definir os últimos detalhes da
missão daquele país que visitará as plantas brasileiras em breve. A última
missão esteve no Brasil no final de novembro do ano passado.
Expansão comercial
Em nota, Ministério da Agricultura relata que a viagem de Mendes Ribeiro à
Europa reforçará as políticas de expansão comercial que a Pasta vem
adotando nos últimos tempos. O ministro cita a recente autorização de venda
de carne suína para o mercado norte-americano e diz que estão bastante
avançadas as tratativas para ampliação das exportações para a China e para
abertura do mercado japonês. Antes de cumprir agenda na Rússia, Ribeiro
participa de encontros na Albânia, Hungria e Inglaterra.
Zero Hora
22/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro vai à Rússia tentar solução para o embargo à carne
brasileira
Ministro vai se reunir com a titular da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik,
no dia 30 de março
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à Rússia na próxima
semana para discutir o embargo russo à carne brasileira. O embargo teve início
em junho de 2011 e afeta todos os frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e
de Mato Grosso.
Segundo o Ministério da Agricultura, Mendes vai se reunir com a ministra da
Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, no dia 30 de março, "com o objetivo de
apresentar o perfeito cumprimento das normas sanitárias exigidas pelas
autoridades russas nos frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e Mato
Grosso para a retomada imediata da comercialização".
primeira vez com a ministra Yelena em janeiro. Na época, ele disse ter
percebido a disposição da colega russa em resolver o impasse, mas a
expectativa era que uma solução final viesse apenas após as eleições
presidenciais na Rússia, que ocorreram no início do mês, com a vitória de
Vladimir Putin.
Agência Brasil
22/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro vai à Rússia tentar solução para o embargo à carne
brasileira
Brasília – O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à Rússia na
Paraná e de Mato Grosso.
ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, no dia 30 de março, “com o
Grosso para a retomada imediata da comercialização”.
Antes de chegar a Moscou, Mendes Ribeiro tem compromissos agendados nas
capitais da Albânia, Hungria e Inglaterra. Em Tirana, no dia 26, ele se
encontrará com o ministro da Agricultura e o primeiro-ministro albaneses, além
de reunir-se com representantes do setor agrícola do país. Em Budapeste, no
dia 27, ele será recebido pelo ministro da Agricultura húngaro para tratar das
trocas comerciais do agronegócio.
Em Londres, Mendes Ribeiro tem compromissos nos dias 28 e 29, começando
com uma reunião de coordenação sobre relações bilaterais entre o Brasil e o
Reino Unido, com o embaixador brasileiro na Inglaterra, Roberto Jaguaribe, e
diplomatas. No dia 29, o ministro dará palestra sobre desafios e oportunidades
da agricultura sustentável no Brasil durante seminário do jornal Financial
Times.
Brasil Econômico
23/03/2012
Ministro da Agricultura discutirá com russos o embargo imposto à carne
brasileira
O ministro da agricultura Mendes Ribeiro Filho, se reúne com a ministra da
Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, em 30 de março, para discutir o
embargo à carne brasileira. Ele teve início em junho de 2011 e afeta os
frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato Grosso. O ministro vai
apresentar o cumprimento das normas sanitárias exigidas pela Rússia para a
retomada da comercialização
Diário do Nordeste
26/03/2012
Ministro vai à Rússia tentar solução
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à Rússia na nesta
semana para, no dia 30, discutir, com a ministra da Agricultura russa, Yelena
Skrynnik, o embargo à carne brasileira. O embargo teve início em junho de
2011 e afeta todos os frigoríficos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato
Grosso. Durante a visita, Mendes Ribeiro vai apresentar o perfeito cumprimento
das normas sanitárias exigidas retomada imediata das negociações.
O Pioneiro
26/03/2012
Ministro viaja à Rússia
Brasília – Produtores gaúchos estão esperançosos com uma solução para o
embargo russo à carne produzida no Estado. Imposto em junho de 2011, o
bloqueio atinge seis frigoríficos no Estado, instalados em Alegrete, Bagé, São
Gabriel, Capão do Leão e Santa Maria, além de unidades em Mato Grosso e
no Paraná.
Nesta semana, o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à
Rússia para discutir o entrave. Na sexta-feira, se reunirá com a ministra da
Agricultura do país, Yelena Skrynnik, para apresentar o cumprimento das
normas sanitárias e pedir a retomada imediata da exportação.
Secretário de Defesa Agropecuária brasileiro, Enio Marques chegará a Moscou
dois dias antes para acelerar a negociação e resolver pendências técnicas com
as autoridades sanitárias russas. A perspectiva de resolução do impasse anima
o setor.
– É uma situação que tem prejudicado o setor, pois afeta um importante
mercado. Há meses aguardamos uma solução – diz Ronei Lauxen, presidente
do Sindicato da Indústria da Carne do RS (Sicadergs).
Na época do bloqueio, a Rússia absorvia 30% das exportações de carne in
natura do Estado
Jornal Cana
26/03/2012
Ministro visita capitais da Albânia, Hungria, Inglaterra e Rússia
O ministro da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho,
estará de 26 a 30 de março, nas capitais da Albânia, Hungria, Inglaterra e
Rússia. A agenda envolve discussões sobre o agronegócio nos países e
agricultura sustentável.
Na parte da manhã de segunda-feira, dia 26, na primeira agenda externa,
Mendes Ribeiro Filho manterá encontro com o setor agrícola privado albanês,
na cidade de Tirana. Em seguida, terá audiência com o colega de pasta, Genc
Ruli, e com o Primeiro-Ministro da Albânia, Sali Belisha.
Na tarde da terça-feira, dia 27, em Budapeste (Hungria), o ministro brasileiro se
reúne com o ministro da Agricultura húngaro, Sandor Fankas, para tratar de
questões que envolvem o comércio do agronegócio entre os dois países.
Mendes Ribeiro Filho cumpre agenda na tarde de quarta-feira, dia 28, na
Embaixada do Brasil em Londres (Inglaterra). O ministro terá reunião de
coordenação sobre relações bilaterais do Brasil e Reinos Unido, com o
Embaixador Roberto Jaguaribe e diplomatas.
No dia 29, quinta-feira, Mendes Ribeiro Filho participa no Seminário do
Financial Times sobre agricultura sustentável. Na parte da manhã, o ministro
profere a palestra intitulada Um olhar estratégico para os desafios e
oportunidades inerentes à integração da agricultura sustentável no Brasil.
Na capital russa, em Moscou, a audiência da tarde de sexta-feira, dia 30, será
com a ministra da Agricultura, Elena Srkynnik. O encontro servirá para discutir
o fim do embargo russo aos frigoríficos dos estados do Paraná, Rio Grande do
Sul e Mato Grosso. Além disso, definirá a vinda de uma missão técnica para
inspeção dos estabelecimentos brasileiros
Jornal do Commercio
26/03/2012
Momento decisivo
Presidente da Abipecs, de produtores de carne suína, Pedro de Camargo Neto
está otimista com a visita do ministro da Agricultura à Rússia, esta semana.
Mendes Ribeiro terá encontro com a colega Yelena Skrynnik para tentar por fim
ao embargo ao produto brasileiro. “De dezembro do ano passado a fevereiro
tivemos quatro frigoríficos habilitados. Estamos esperançosos de que a lista se
amplie’’, diz.
Folha de Londrina
26/03/2012
Ministro vai à Rússia tentar fim de embargo à carne
Frigoríficos do Paraná estão entre os prejudicados
Brasília - O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, viajará à Rússia na
Paraná e de Mato Grosso. As informações são da Agência Brasil.
ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, no dia 30 de março, ''com o
Grosso para a retomada imediata da comercialização''.
técnicas com as autoridades sanitárias russas. Ribeiro Filho esteve pela
Veja
26/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro, Belchior e Lobão viajam para o Exterior
Brasília (AE) - Os ministros da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes
Ribeiro Filho; de Minas e Energia, Edison Lobão; e de Planejamento,
Orçamento e Gestão, Miriam Belchior, vão cumprir missões fora do País esta
semana. Na edição de hoje do Diário Oficial da União foram publicados
despachos da presidente Dilma Rousseff autorizando o afastamento dessas
três autoridades.
A ministra do Planejamento, Miriam Belchior, viajará para Nova York, nos
Estados Unidos, com afastamento no período de 27 a 30 de março. Segundo o
Diário Oficial, ela vai proferir palestra na "Brazilian-American Chamber of
Commerce" sobre o desenvolvimento do Programa de Aceleração do
Crescimento no Brasil e o seu provável impacto na economia da América
Latina.
Já o ministro de Minas e Energia, Edison Lobão, estará amanhã, 27, em
Montevidéu, Uruguai, onde participará de reunião com o ministro da Indústria,
Energia e Mineração uruguaio, Roberto Kreimerman. Serão debatidos temas
relacionados à energia elétrica, petróleo e gás natural, informa o Diário Oficial.
Mendes Ribeiro teve afastamento autorizado no período entre 23 e 31 de
março, com missão em quatro locais. Segundo o Diário Oficial, o primeiro
destino do ministro da Agricultura é Tirana, na Albânia, para tratar de assuntos
relacionados à exportação de carne suína. Hoje, inclusive, o ministro da
Agricultura já assinou em Tirana termo de memorando de entendimento entre
Brasil e Albânia, com o objetivo de estreitar os laços comerciais entre os dois
países e aproximar a cooperação em pesquisa e desenvolvimento técnico e
comercial no segmento agrícola. Mendes Ribeiro foi recebido pelo primeiroministro albanês, Sali Berisha, e esteve reunido com ministro da agricultura
albanês, Genc Ruli.
O segundo destino de Mendes Ribeiro será Budapeste, na Hungria, onde
discutirá assuntos relacionados à cooperação agrícola entre a Hungria e o
Brasil. Mendes Ribeiro também irá a Moscou, na Rússia, para tratar de temas
relacionados ao comércio agrícola entre o Brasil e a Rússia. O ministro ainda
irá a Londres, na Inglaterra, para proferir palestra no Seminário sobre
"Desenvolvimento Sustentável na Agricultura". Ele terá reuniões com os
ministros de agricultura de cada país visitado.
RBV News
26/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro, Belchior e Lobão viajam para o Exterior
Os ministros da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho;
de Minas e Energia, Edison Lobão; e de Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão,
Miriam Belchior, vão cumprir missões fora do País esta semana. Na edição de
hoje do Diário Oficial da União foram publicados despachos da presidente
Dilma Rousseff autorizando o afastamento dessas três autoridades.
A ministra do Planejamento, Miriam Belchior, viajará para Nova York, nos
Estados Unidos, com afastamento no período de 27 a 30 de março. Segundo o
Diário Oficial, ela vai proferir palestra na "Brazilian-American Chamber of
Commerce" sobre o desenvolvimento do Programa de Aceleração do
Crescimento no Brasil e o seu provável impacto na economia da América
Latina.
Já o ministro de Minas e Energia, Edison Lobão, estará amanhã, 27, em
Montevidéu, Uruguai, onde participará de reunião com o ministro da Indústria,
Energia e Mineração uruguaio, Roberto Kreimerman. Serão debatidos temas
relacionados à energia elétrica, petróleo e gás natural, informa o Diário Oficial.
Mendes Ribeiro teve afastamento autorizado no período entre 23 e 31 de
março, com missão em quatro locais. Segundo o Diário Oficial, o primeiro
destino do ministro da Agricultura é Tirana, na Albânia, para tratar de assuntos
relacionados à exportação de carne suína. Hoje, inclusive, o ministro da
Agricultura já assinou em Tirana termo de memorando de entendimento entre
Brasil e Albânia, com o objetivo de estreitar os laços comerciais entre os dois
países e aproximar a cooperação em pesquisa e desenvolvimento técnico e
comercial no segmento agrícola. Mendes Ribeiro foi recebido pelo primeiroministro albanês, Sali Berisha, e esteve reunido com ministro da agricultura
albanês, Genc Ruli.
O segundo destino de Mendes Ribeiro será Budapeste, na Hungria, onde
discutirá assuntos relacionados à cooperação agrícola entre a Hungria e o
Brasil. Mendes Ribeiro também irá a Moscou, na Rússia, para tratar de temas
relacionados ao comércio agrícola entre o Brasil e a Rússia. O ministro ainda
irá a Londres, na Inglaterra, para proferir palestra no Seminário sobre
"Desenvolvimento Sustentável na Agricultura". Ele terá reuniões com os
ministros de agricultura de cada país visitado.
Canal Rural
26/03/2012
Brasil e Albânia se comprometem a estreitar laços comerciais
Ministro da Agricultura Mendes Ribeiro Filho está na Europa, onde faz visitas a
países importadores
Em visita da missão governamental na Europa do Ministério da Agricultura,
Pecuária e Abastecimento a Tirana, capital da Albânia, nesta segunda, dia 26,
o ministro da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho,
assinou o termo de memorando de entendimento entre Brasil e Albânia, que
busca estreitar os laços comerciais entre os dois países.
Mendes Ribeiro foi recebido pelo primeiro-ministro albanês, Sali Belisha. O
encontro reforçou a abertura comercial e quebrou alguns critérios técnicos
sobre a carne suína brasileira. Ainda que a Albânia não participe como paísmembro da Comunidade Econômica Europeia (CEE), exigências e eventuais
empecilhos para importação de produtos brasileiros amparam-se em
determinados pontos do mercado europeu. Após um primeiro encontro com
uma comitiva empresarial dos pais, formada por 12 importadores, Mendes
esclareceu a intenção de manter uma cooperação permanente.
– Nosso comércio pode ser mais aprofundado, pois cada vez mais existe a
necessidade de se produzir alimentos para o mundo –, afirmou.
Em outra reunião, desta vez com o ministro da agricultura albanês Genc Ruli,
os gestores buscaram o entendimento para promoção e investimentos na
agricultura e regulação normativa e fitossanitária entre os dois países. O
desenvolvimento de ações inclui desde a troca de informações sobre material
genético, passando pelo suporte em assistência técnica, até a cooperação na
área de bicombustível e tecnologias de manejo para uma agricultura
sustentável.
– A agricultura é hoje uma forma de aproximar os países e combater a fome.
Vamos buscar aperfeiçoar nossa tecnologia, corrigir nossos custos – defendeu
o ministro brasileiro.
Ainda nesta segunda, dia 26, a missão visitará a Hungria. Na sexta-feira, dia
30, Mendes estará na Rússia para discutir o embargo à carne suína.
Suinocultura industrial
27/03/2012
Ministro sela acordo de cooperação com empresários húngaros
O avanço nas tratativas de comércio bilateral agrícola entre Brasil e Hungria
começa a ganhar novos contornos com a presença do ministro da Agricultura,
Pecuária e Abastecimento (Mapa), Mendes Ribeiro Filho, em reunião com uma
comitiva de empresários húngaros em Budapeste, na manhã desta terça-feira,
27 de março. O segundo encontro da missão governamental do Mapa na
Europa, que aconteceu na embaixada do Brasil na capital, prosperou e abriu
novas perspectivas para o mercado do Leste Europeu. Na parte da tarde,
Mendes estará cumprindo agenda com o ministro do Desenvolvimento Rural
húngaro, Sándor Fazekas, para estreitar ainda mais as relações entre os dois
países.
A comitiva empresarial húngara, representada em sua maioria por dez
importadores e representantes de processamento de matéria-prima de base
agrícola, está otimista em aumentar o comércio a partir da cooperação técnica,
nas áreas de café, soja e no setor de avicultura, e ainda em projetos de
aquicultura. Para o ministro brasileiro, que ajusta o acordo de cooperação
comercial, buscar novos mercados e estimular negócios com importadores
europeus de matéria-prima nesta região aumenta a responsabilidade dos
brasileiros para a segurança alimentar. "O Brasil tem feito um trabalho
reconhecido pelo mundo na produção de alimentos. Mesmo com o aumento
das exigências, estamos dando mais um passo na Hungria", relatou Mendes.
Outros acordos de cooperação para pesquisa de solo e produção graneleira
em sementes devem avançar, sobretudo, baseada em uma planificação de
pesquisa climática, ao qual a Hungria domina na Europa. "Não há nenhuma
área mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para estabelecer uma
plataforma de fomento entre os dois países", avaliou Mendes Ribeiro Filho.
Também faz parte da programação da delegação ministerial na Hungria, a
visita no Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e do Departamento de Pesca e
Aquicultura da Universidade de Santo Estevão para debate sobre cooperação
com o Brasil. Nesta quarta-feira, 28 de março, o ministro chega à Inglaterra
para novo encontro diplomático e na quinta, participar como palestrante em
evento do Financial Times.
Valor Econômico
27/03/2012
Brasil e Hungria fecham acordo de cooperação em café, soja e aves
BRASÍLIA - Brasil e Hungria devem ampliar o comércio a partir da cooperação
técnica nas áreas de café, soja e no setor de avicultura, em acordos assinados
hoje pelo ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho.
Ribeiro esteve reunido nesta manhã com uma comitiva de dez importadores
húngaros e representantes de processadoras de matérias-primas de base
agrícola.
em sementes devem avançar, sobretudo, na experiência que a Hungria domina
na Europa.
“Não há nenhuma área mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para
estabelecer uma relação de fomento entre os dois países”, avaliou Mendes
Ribeiro Filho, em nota.
Para o ministro, a busca de novos mercados e negócios com importadores
europeus de matérias-primas aumenta a responsabilidade dos brasileiros na
área de segurança alimentar.
Último segundo
27/03/2012
Brasil e Hungria fecham acordo de cooperação em café, soja e aves
Ministro da Agricultura recebe comitiva comercial para cooperação
Brasil e Hungria devem ampliar o comércio a partir da cooperação técnica nas
áreas de café, soja e no setor de avicultura, em acordos assinados hoje pelo
ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho.
Ribeiro esteve reunido nesta manhã com uma comitiva de dez importadores
húngaros e representantes de processadoras de matérias-primas de base
agrícola.
em sementes devem avançar, sobretudo, na experiência que a Hungria domina
na Europa.
"Não há nenhuma área mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para
estabelecer uma relação de fomento entre os dois países", avaliou Mendes
Ribeiro Filho, em nota.
Para o ministro, a busca de novos mercados e negócios com importadores
europeus de matérias-primas aumenta a responsabilidade dos brasileiros na
área de segurança alimenta
Correioweb
27/03/2012
Brasil e Hungria firmam acordo de cooperação técnica para agricultura
O Brasil e a Hungria vão aumentar suas trocas comerciais a partir da
cooperação técnica nas áreas de café, soja e avicultura. Nesta terça-feira
(27/3), em Budapeste, o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, assinou
acordos, durante reunião da comitiva brasileira, com dez importadores e
representantes húngaros de processamento de matéria-prima.
Também foram apresentados projetos do setor de aquicultura e, segundo o
Ministério da Agricultura, estão ainda em negociação acordos de cooperação
para a pesquisa de solo e produção graneleira em sementes. “Não há
nenhuma área mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para estabelecer uma
plataforma de fomento entre os dois países”, disse Mendes Ribeiro em nota.
O ministro também vai se reunir com o ministro do Desenvolvimento Rural,
Sándor Fazekas, e visitará o Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e o
Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura da Universidade de Santo Estevão.
Amanhã (28), ele chega a Inglaterra, onde cumpre agenda diplomática até
quinta-feira (29). Depois, Mendes Ribeiro vai a Rússia, onde tentará resolver o
embargo do país à carne brasileira.
Pantanal News
27/03/2012
Ministro sela acordo de cooperação com empresários húngaros
Empresários querem aumentar o comércio a partir da cooperação técnica, nas
áreas de café, soja e no setor de avicultura, e ainda em projetos de aquicultura
O avanço nas tratativas de comércio bilateral agrícola entre Brasil e Hungria
começa a ganhar novos contornos com a presença do ministro da Agricultura,
Pecuária e Abastecimento (Mapa), Mendes Ribeiro Filho, em reunião com uma
comitiva de empresários húngaros em Budapeste, na manhã desta terça-feira,
27 de março. O segundo encontro da missão governamental do Mapa na
Europa, que aconteceu na embaixada do Brasil na capital, prosperou e abriu
novas perspectivas para o mercado do Leste Europeu. Na parte da tarde,
Mendes estará cumprindo agenda com o ministro do Desenvolvimento Rural
húngaro, Sándor Fazekas, para estreitar ainda mais as relações entre os dois
países.
agrícola, está otimista em aumentar o comércio a partir da cooperação técnica,
nas áreas de café, soja e no setor de avicultura, e ainda em projetos de
aquicultura. Para o ministro brasileiro, que ajusta o acordo de cooperação
comercial, buscar novos mercados e estimular negócios com importadores
europeus de matéria-prima nesta região aumenta a responsabilidade dos
brasileiros para a segurança alimentar. “O Brasil tem feito um trabalho
reconhecido pelo mundo na produção de alimentos. Mesmo com o aumento
das exigências, estamos dando mais um passo na Hungria”, relatou Mendes.
em sementes devem avançar, sobretudo, baseada em uma planificação de
pesquisa climática, ao qual a Hungria domina na Europa. “Não há nenhuma
plataforma de fomento entre os dois países”, avaliou Mendes Ribeiro Filho.
Também faz parte da programação da delegação ministerial na Hungria, a
visita no Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e do Departamento de Pesca e
Aquicultura da Universidade de Santo Estevão para debate sobre cooperação
com o Brasil. Nesta quarta-feira, 28 de março, o ministro chega à Inglaterra
para novo encontro diplomático e na quinta, participar como palestrante em
evento do Financial Times.
Portal MS
27/03/2012
Brasil e Hungria assinam acordo de cooperação técnica nas áreas de
café, soja e avicultura
Brasília O Brasil e a Hungria vão aumentar suas trocas comerciais a partir da
cooperação técnica nas áreas de café, soja e avicultura. Hoje (2), em
Budapeste, o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, assinou acordos,
durante reunião da comitiva brasileira, com dez importadores e representantes
húngaros de processamento de matéria-prima.
para a pesquisa de solo e produção graneleira em sementes. Não há nenhuma
plataforma de fomento entre os dois países, disse Mendes Ribeiro em nota.
DCI
27/03/2012
Ministro assina acordo do agronegócio com Albânia
BRASÍLIA - Em visita da missão brasileira a Tirana, capital da Albânia, ontem,
o ministro da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho,
assinou o termo de entendimento entre Brasil e Albânia. O documento de
intenção busca estreitar os laços comerciais entre os dois países e aproximar a
cooperação em pesquisa e desenvolvimento técnico-comercial no segmento
agrícola. O representante brasileiro foi recebido pelo primeiro-ministro albanês,
Sali Belisha. O encontro reforçou a abertura comercial e quebrou alguns
critérios técnicos sobre a carne suína brasileira. Na sexta-feira, Mendes estará
na Rússia para discutir o embargo à carne suína.
Agência Brasil
27/03/2012
Brasil e Hungria assinam acordo de cooperação técnica nas áreas de
café, soja e avicultura
Brasília – O Brasil e a Hungria vão aumentar suas trocas comerciais a partir da
cooperação técnica nas áreas de café, soja e avicultura. Hoje (2), em
Budapeste, o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, assinou acordos,
durante reunião da comitiva brasileira, com dez importadores e representantes
húngaros de processamento de matéria-prima.
para a pesquisa de solo e produção graneleira em sementes. “Não há
nenhuma área mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para estabelecer uma
plataforma de fomento entre os dois países”, disse Mendes Ribeiro em nota.
Diário do comércio
28/03/2012
Novas perspectivas na Europa
Brasília - O avanço nas tratativas de comércio bilateral agrícola entre Brasil e
Hungria começou a ganhar novos contornos com a presença do ministro da
Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Mapa), Mendes Ribeiro Filho, em
reunião com uma comitiva de empresários húngaros em Budapeste, na manhã
de ontem. O segundo encontro da missão governamental do Mapa na Europa,
na embaixada do Brasil na capital, prosperou e abriu novas perspectivas para o
mercado do Leste Europeu. Na parte da tarde, Mendes cumpriu agenda com o
ministro do Desenvolvimento Rural húngaro, Sándor Fazekas, para estreitar
ainda mais as relações entre os dois países.
agrícola, está otimista quanto a aumentar o comércio a partir da cooperação
técnica, nas áreas de café, soja, avicultura e ainda em projetos de aquicultura.
Para o ministro brasileiro, que ajusta o acordo de cooperação comercial, buscar
novos mercados e estimular negócios com importadores europeus de matériaprima nesta região aumenta a responsabilidade dos brasileiros para a
segurança alimentar. "O Brasil tem feito um trabalho reconhecido pelo mundo
na produção de alimentos. Mesmo com o aumento das exigências, estamos
dando mais um passo na Hungria", disse Mendes.
em sementes devem avançar, sobretudo, baseados em uma planificação de
pesquisa climática, que a Hungria domina na Europa. "Não há nenhuma área
mais forte na Hungria do que a agricultura para estabelecer uma plataforma de
fomento entre os dois países", avaliou o ministro.
Também fazem parte da programação da delegação ministerial na Hungria as
visitas ao Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e ao Departamento de Pesca e
Aquicultura da Universidade de Santo Estêvão, para debate sobre cooperação
com o Brasil.
Hoje, o ministro chega à Inglaterra para novo encontro diplomático e, amanhã,
participa como palestrante em evento do jornal "Financial Times". As
informações são do Mapa.
A Folha Paulista
29/03/2012
Ministro apresenta agricultura brasileira em Londres
Incremento na produção agrícola e sustentabilidade no campo foram temas
abordados por Mendes Ribeiro Filho em evento do Financial Times
O avanço da sustentabilidade no manejo do solo com preservação ambiental, a
emissão de baixo carbono e os indicadores positivos de produção alimentar,
que garantem segurança ao combate da fome no mundo foram alguns dos
assuntos abordados durante a palestra do ministro da Agricultura, Pecuária e
Abastecimento (Mapa), Mendes Ribeiro Filho, durante o seminário FT
Sustainable Agriculture Summit, que ocorreu nesta quinta-feira, 29 de março,
no Hotel Marriot Square, em Londres. O evento, que contou com a participação
brasileira de representantes do setor sucroalcooleiro, da pecuária (bovina e de
aves), da citricultura e da sojicultura ampliou o painel de debates e revelou um
Brasil em crescente ascensão junto ao cenário internacional.
Os desafios e inovações no contexto de incremento da produção agrícola
apresentados em palestras com as autoridades da Comissão da Comunidade
Econômica Europeia (CEE), alem de demais segmentos, causaram boa
expectativa entre os participantes, sobretudo, nos aspectos levantados em
bicombustível, preservação da floresta nativa – e consequente resguardo
legislativo na aquisição de terras por estrangeiros – transgênicos, além do tema
do momento, a aprovação do Código Florestal.
Mendes Ribeiro Filho destacou o programa Brasil Sem Miséria do governo da
presidenta Dilma Rousseff que busca combater a fome e a pobreza extrema no
Brasil. No meio rural, o ministro lembrou de programas como Bolsa Verde,
Rede Brasil Rural e o Agricultura de Baixa Emissão de Carbono. "De Norte a
Sul do Brasil, esses programas aliam preservação ambiental e mais renda no
campo", disse.
Para Mendes, tratar com equilíbrio as áreas econômica, social e ambiental tem
sido o pilar da atual política de governo. "Nosso pais se tornou líder em
inovação agropecuária no mundo. Pela ferramenta da pesquisa, conseguimos
diversificar e inovar nossos sistemas de produção, garantindo segurança
alimentar e aumentando as exportações", explanou.
O evento contou ainda com a participação da senadora Katia Abreu e do ex
ministro da Agricultura, atual presidente da Ubabef, Francisco Turra e do
embaixador do Brasil no Reino Unido, Roberto Jaguaribe.
Diário do comércio
29/03/2012
País mostra avanços na agricultura sustentável
Presidente da CNA vai apresentar hoje, em Londres, o que vem sendo posto
em prática pelos produtores brasileiros.
Brasília - A presidente da Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil
(CNA), senadora Kátia Abreu, apresentará hoje na Cúpula de Agricultura
Sustentável, promovida pelo jornal "Financial Times" e a embaixada do Brasil
no Reino Unido, os avanços da agricultura sustentável no Brasil, que vêm
sendo postos em prática pelos produtores rurais.
A apresentação incluirá avaliação do Projeto Biomas, que está sendo
desenvolvido pela CNA em parceria com a Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa
Agropecuária (Embrapa). Com custo de US$ 23,4 milhões, o projeto tem como
objetivo pesquisar formas de produção sustentável, com foco no uso da árvore,
com benefícios ambientais, econômicos e sociais para os produtores rurais
brasileiros.
O projeto prevê a implantação de uma vitrine tecnológica em cada um dos seis
biomas brasileiros - Mata Atlântica, Cerrado, Amazônia, Caatinga, Pantanal e
Pampa -, onde os produtores rurais poderão conhecer técnicas de produção
sustentável que melhor se apliquem à sua propriedade. Envolve mais de 240
pesquisadores e centenas de multiplicadores, que levarão os resultados destas
pesquisas a milhares de produtores rurais. Financiado pela CNA, conta com o
apoio das empresas John Deere, Vale Fertilizantes, Monsanto e Serviço
Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (Sebrae).
Proteção mundial - Outra proposta a ser abordada pela presidente da CNA é a
criação de áreas de proteção permanente no mundo, seguindo experiência
bem-sucedida no Brasil com as chamadas APPs (Áreas de Preservação
Permanente). A iniciativa visa incentivar a proteção, em todo o mundo, de
áreas localizadas às margens de rios, das nascentes e das regiões de grande
declividade, a fim de proteger as fontes de água, indispensável à agricultura e à
sobrevivência dos seres vivos no planeta.
"Não queremos culpar outros países por não preservarem suas margens de
rios e nascentes. Todos os países cometeram erros e têm suas imperfeições.
Mas este é um momento oportuno para se corrigir erros do passado e garantir
a preservação e uso eficiente dos recursos naturais", defende Kátia Abreu. A
proposta de criação de APPs em escala mundial foi lançada pela CNA, junto
com a Embrapa e a Agência Nacional de Águas, durante o Fórum Mundial das
Águas, neste mês, em Marselha, na França.
A presidente da CNA mostrará, ainda, durante a Cúpula de Agricultura
Sustentável, que o Brasil alcançou posição de destaque como maior agricultura
tropical do planeta e um dos grandes produtores de alimentos do mundo
utilizando apenas 27,7% do seu território para atividades agropecuárias,
conseguindo manter 61% do seu território cobertos com vegetação nativa.
Conduzido por editores do jornal britânico "Financial Times", o seminário
abordará o tema Desafios e Inovações no Contexto do Aumento da Demanda
por Alimentos, com foco no Brasil. Estarão presentes o ministro da Agricultura,
Mendes Ribeiro, autoridades agrícolas da União Européia, líderes de setoreschave do agronegócio brasileiro e representantes de ONGs. As informações
são da CNA.
Correio do povo
28/03/2012
Acordo entre Brasil e Hungria
Brasil e Hungria vão aumentar as trocas comerciais nas áreas de café, soja e
avicultura. Em Budapeste, o ministro Mendes Ribeiro Filho assinou acordos
com importadores e representantes de processamento de matéria-prima.
Foram apresentados projetos do setor de aquicultura, acordos para a pesquisa
de solo e produção graneleira.
Bloomberg
29/03/2012
Brazil Agriculture Minister to Discuss Russian Meat Ban Tomorrow
Brazilian agriculture minister Mendes Ribeiro Filho will travel to Russia to
discuss a ban on shipments of meat from certain companies from the South
American country, he said in an interview in London today.
The Brazilian delegation is flying to Russia today and will meet with Russian
authorities tomorrow, he said in the interview.
Russia imposed a ban on imports of meat from some Brazilian companies in the
states of Parana, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul in June, according to
Rosselkhoznadzor, a food safety watchdog in Russia.
Bloomberg
30/03/2012
Brazil’s Government May Stockpile Coffee in 2012 to Help Farmers
Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, may stockpile beans to help farmers
as production this year climbs to a record, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Coffee output will probably rise to a record in the 2012-13 season starting in
July as trees enter the higher-yielding half of a two-year cycle, the government
said. Production is expected to be 49 million to 52.3 million bags, exceeding the
high of 48.5 million bags in 2002, according to a Jan. 10 report from Conab, the
government’s crop forecasting agency. A bag of coffee weighs 60 kilograms
(132 pounds).
“What we can do to adjust the balance is take the product off the market, find
more markets to sell it, or utilize it in the domestic market,” Mendes Ribeiro
Filho, the country’s agriculture minister, said in an interview in London today.
Brazil may overtake the U.S. as the world’s top coffee consumer, he said. The
South American country consumed 18.9 million bags of coffee in 2010, up 4
percent from a year earlier, according to the London-based International Coffee
Organization. That compares with 21.8 million bags used in the U.S., the
biggest consumer and an increase of 1.6 percent, ICO data show.
Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar, will invest in the industry after
production in the Center South, the country’s main sugar cane growing region,
fell for the first time in a decade, the minister said, without providing a figure.
Sugar cane output in the 2011-12 season through Feb. 15 was 494.3 million
metric tons, down 11 percent from a year earlier, industry group Unica
estimates.
Agência Brasil
30/03/2012
Embargo russo à carne brasileira pode chegar ao fim, diz ministro
Brasília - O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, disse hoje (30) que o
embargo russo às carnes exportadas por vários frigoríficos brasileiros, incluindo
todos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato Grosso, “está chegando ao fim”.
Apesar do otimismo do ministro, que falou por telefone com jornalistas após
uma reunião, em Moscou, com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena
Skrynnik, nenhum frigorífico adicional recebeu autorização para exportar para o
mercado russo durante a missão brasileira.
Segundo Mendes Ribeiro, técnicos brasileiros aproveitarão uma missão dos
russos que parte neste fim de semana para a Argentina para avançar nas
negociações. “Mostrei minha inquietação para uma resposta e ela [Yelena
Skrynnik] falou pra aproveitarmos a agenda na Argentina”, disse.
“Estou muito otimista com a reunião técnica de segunda-feira em Buenos Aires
entre os governos brasileiro e Russo para avaliar as plantas brasileiras. Isso
está chegando ao fim”, avaliou Mendes Ribeiro. Ele ressaltou que a Rússia é o
maior mercado importador de carnes bovina e suína brasileiras. “A Rússia
contesta algumas posições que gradativamente vem sendo vencidas, mas têm
confiança na qualidade dos produtos brasileiros”.
Uma solução rápida para o embargo, que começou em junho de 2011, esbarra
também na intenção da Rússia de atingir sua autossuficiência na produção de
carnes. Dados do Departamento de Agricultura dos Estados Unidos (Usda, na
sigla em inglês), mostram que as importações de carnes, que em 2007
representavam 41,7% do consumo interno russo, estão estimadas para 25,5%
neste ano.
Por seguimentos, considerando o mesmo período, as importações da Rússia
de carne de frango, que representavam 46,5% da demanda interna devem cair
para apenas 11,3%, e as da suína, de 35,3% para 27,5%. A importação de
carne bovina é a única que se mantém estável, em cerca de 43% do consumo
doméstico.
Atualmente, há 48 plantas brasileiras autorizadas a exportar para a Rússia,
sendo 29 de carne bovina, quatro de carne suína e 15 de carne de aves.
Outras 91 que figuram na lista de aprovadas pela União Aduaneira estão
embargadas, com restrições temporárias.
Folha de Londrina
30/03/2012
Agricultura brasileira em Londres
PAINEL DO AGRONEGÓCIO
O avanço da sustentabilidade no manejo do solo com preservação ambiental, a
emissão de baixo carbono e os indicadores positivos de produção alimentar
foram alguns dos assuntos abordados durante a palestra do ministro da
Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Mapa), Mendes Ribeiro Filho, durante o
seminário FT Sustainable Agriculture Summit, que ocorreu na quinta-feira, no
Hotel Marriot Square, em Londres. O evento contou com a participação
brasileira de representantes do setor sucroalcooleiro, da pecuária (bovina e de
aves), da citricultura e da sojicultura. O evento contou ainda com a participação
da senadora Katia Abreu e do ex ministro da Agricultura, atual presidente da
Ubabef, Francisco Turra e do embaixador do Brasil no Reino Unido, Roberto
Jaguaribe.
Geada afeta lavouras de soja
A geada ocorrida em Entre Rios, distrito de Guarapuava, e em alguns pontos
mais baixos da cidade na madrugada da última quarta-feira pode comprometer
a produtividade das lavouras de soja plantadas em dezembro, atualmente em
estágio de enchimento de grãos. A afirmação é do Sindicato Rural de
Guarapuava. O Instituto Tecnológico Simepar registrou 3º C na madrugada do
dia 27, sendo 2,7º C no distrito de Entre Rios. Segundo o vice-presidente do
Sindicato Rural de Guarapuava, Anton Gora, algumas lavouras de soja já estão
em fase de colheita, outras no final da maturação e algumas em estágio de
formação de grãos, sendo as mais prejudicadas em casos de geada.
UOL
30/03/2012
Brasil diz que embargo russo à carne nacional está para acabar
Brasília, 30 mar (EFE).- O ministro da Agricultura, Jorge Mendes Ribeiro,
anunciou nesta sexta-feira que o embargo que a Rússia aplica para grande
parte das exportações de carne nacional "está chegando ao fim", informaram
fontes oficiais.
Ribeiro, que se reuniu em Moscou com sua colega, Yelena Skrynnik, disse que
a Rússia aceitou negociar o fim do embargo na semana que vem durante uma
visita técnica de inspetores russos à Argentina, segundo declarações do
ministro publicadas pela "Agência Brasil".
"Estou muito otimista com a reunião técnica da segunda-feira em Buenos Aires
entre os Governos brasileiro e russo para avaliar as unidades brasileiras. Isto
está chegando ao fim", afirmou Mendes Ribeiro.
A Rússia vetou em junho do ano passado a importação de carne de 89
empresas dos estados de Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul e Paraná, três dos
principais produtores do país.
As autoridades russas argumentaram que a medida se deve a que foram
detectadas várias deficiências no funcionamento dos serviços veterinários do
Brasil.
Após o veto a estas empresas, as exportações de carne para a Rússia caíram
19,45% em 2011, para 237.500 toneladas, segundo dados da Associação
Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carne (Abiec).
O Brasil é um dos principais provedores de carne para a Rússia com 45% de
bovina, 35% de suína, e 19% de aves importadas pelo país europeu, segundo
dados do Instituto de Marketing Agrícola da Rússia. EFE
Canal Rural
30/03/2012
Reunião entre Mendes Ribeiro e ministra russa termina sem acordo para o
fim do embargo a carnes brasileiras
Esperança de reversão da restrição russa está agora na reunião marcada para
a próxima segunda em Buenos Aires
Apesar da expectativa do setor, a reunião entre o ministro Agricultura, Mendes
Ribeiro Filho, e a chefe da mesma pasta na Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, terminou
sem acordo para o fim do embargo às carnes brasileiras. As autoridades
encontraram-se nesta sexta, dia 30, em Moscou, na Rússia.
Em teleconferência com a imprensa, direto da Rússia, Mendes Ribeiro reiterou,
no entanto, que está otimista. De acordo com a autoridade, o governo brasileiro
aproveitará a missão técnica russa à Argentina e ao Chile, na próxima semana,
para aprofundar discussões sobre novas avaliações de frigoríficos no Brasil. Na
segunda, dia 2, o ministro se encontrará com o chefe do serviço sanitário
russo, Sergey Dankvert, em Buenos Aires.
– A Rússia contesta algumas posições que gradativamente vêm sendo
vencidas, mas têm confiança na qualidade dos produtos brasileiros – afirmou.
Segundo Mendes, a ministra russa teria argumentado que a relação entre os
dois países passa por uma questão importante, que é a venda do trigo. Ela
teria ponderado sobre a importância do mercado brasileiro para o cereal russo.
Mendes Ribeiro pretende colocar o assunto em discussão na próxima reunião
do Mercosul, prevista para os dias 16 e 17 de abril, pois a questão afeta a
Argentina, principal fornecedor de trigo para o Brasil.
embargadas com restrições temporárias.
O ministro retorna ao Brasil nesta sexta, após uma semana de viagem pelo
continente europeu. Ele está acompanhado em Moscou por uma comitiva
formada pela presidente da Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil
(CNA), a senadora Kátia Abreu (PSD-TO); o diretor executivo da Associação
Brasileira dos Exportadores de Carne (Abiec), Fernando Sampaio; o presidente
da Associação Brasileira dos Produtores e Exportadores de Frango (Ubabef),
Francisco Turra; o diretor da Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Óleos
Vegetais (Abiove), Fábio Trigueirinho; o presidente demissionário da União da
Agroindústria da Cana-de-açúcar (Unica), Marcos Jank; e o vice-presidente de
Agronegócios do Banco do Brasil, Osmar Dias
Diário da Rússia
30/03/2012
Restrições temporárias à importação da carne brasileira podem ser
suspensas
Ministro da Agricultura do Brasil sai otimista de reunião com sua colega russa
em Moscou
O Ministro Mendes Ribeiro Filho afirmou nesta sexta-feira, 30, em Moscou, que
está otimista com relação à suspensão das restrições temporárias à importação
da carne brasileira para o mercado russo. Segundo a Agência Brasil, o titular
da pasta da Agricultura do Brasil tinha acabado de sair de uma reunião com a
Ministra Yelena Skrynnik, da Agricultura russa – um encontro que teve como
tema principal a reabertura da Rússia para as carnes exportadas por vários
frigoríficos brasileiros, incluindo todos os do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e Mato
Grosso.
Ainda de acordo com a Agência Brasil, Mendes Ribeiro Filho informou que a
Ministra Skrynnik recomendou que os técnicos brasileiros encarregados do
assunto se encontrem com a missão russa que estará na Argentina na próxima
semana, para que, juntos, brasileiros e russos avancem nas negociações.
As restrições temporárias à importação da carne brasileira tiveram início em
junho de 2011, por motivos técnicos, segundo as autoridades fitossanitárias
russas. Atualmente, há 48 frigoríficos brasileiros autorizados a exportar para a
Rússia, sendo 29 de carne bovina, 4 de carne suína e 15 de carne de aves. E
91 estão na lista das restrições temporárias.
INFOMONEY
30/03/2012
Ministro está otimista com possível fim de embargo russo à carne
brasileira
SÃO PAULO – O embargo russo às carnes exportadas por frigoríficos
brasileiros “está chegando ao fim”, afirmou o ministro da agricultura, Mendes
Ribeiro Filho, em conversa com jornalistas após reunião com a ministra da
Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, em Moscou, nesta sexta-feira (30).
Técnicos brasileiros irão aproveitar a missão russa que estará na Argentina
durante o final de semana para avançar com as negociações, disse Mendes
Ribeiro. O ministro mostrou-se otimista com a reunião que acontecerá na
próxima segunda-feira (2), em Buenos Aires, e ressaltou a importância da
Rússia como maior importador das carnes bovina e suína brasileiras.
A intenção russa de atingir autossuficiência na produção de carnes é outro
empecilho ao embargo que teve início em junho do ano passado. Neste
sentido, números do Departamento de Agricultura norte-americano apontam
que as importações de carne pelo país do leste europeu, que representavam
41,7% do consumo interno em 2007, devem cair para o patamar de 25,5% em
2012.
No total, 48 plantas brasileiras estão autorizadas a fazer exportações para a
Rússia. Destas, 29 são de carne bovina, 15 de carne de aves e quatro de carne
suína.
Último Instante
30/03/2012
Brasil diz que embargo russo à carne nacional está para acabar
Rússia aceita negociar na semana que vem durante uma visita técnica de
inspetores russos à Argentina, segundo declarações do ministro publicadas
pela Agência Brasil.
30 de março de 2012 - O ministro da Agricultura, Jorge Mendes Ribeiro,
anunciou nesta sexta-feira que o embargo que a Rússia aplica para grande
parte das exportações de carne nacional "está chegando ao fim", informaram
fontes oficiais.
Ribeiro, que se reuniu em Moscou com sua colega, Yelena Skrynnik, disse que
a Rússia aceitou negociar o fim do embargo na semana que vem durante uma
visita técnica de inspetores russos à Argentina, segundo declarações do
ministro publicadas pela "Agência Brasil".
"Estou muito otimista com a reunião técnica da segunda-feira em Buenos Aires
entre os Governos brasileiro e russo para avaliar as unidades brasileiras. Isto
está chegando ao fim", afirmou Mendes Ribeiro.
A Rússia vetou em junho do ano passado a importação de carne de 89
empresas dos estados de Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul e Paraná, três dos
principais produtores do país.
As autoridades russas argumentaram que a medida se deve a que foram
detectadas várias deficiências no funcionamento dos serviços veterinários do
Brasil.
Após o veto a estas empresas, as exportações de carne para a Rússia caíram
19,45% em 2011, para 237.500 toneladas, segundo dados da Associação
Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carne (Abiec).
O Brasil é um dos principais provedores de carne para a Rússia com 45% de
bovina, 35% de suína, e 19% de aves importadas pelo país europeu, segundo
dados do Instituto de Marketing Agrícola da Rússia.
AGRONOTICIAS
30/03/2012
Avança negociação da carne suína brasileira com o governo russo
Mais um passo importante foi dado nas tratativas com a Rússia para derrubar o
embargo sobre a carne suína brasileira, que perdura por nove meses. Na tarde
desta sexta-feira, 30 de março, a comitiva governamental liderada pelo ministro
da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, esteve em
Moscou negociando os últimos detalhes para habilitar novamente as plantas
exportadoras brasileiras para o comércio com a Rússia. Em reunião por mais
de uma hora com a ministra russa Elena Skrynnik e sua equipe técnica, foram
abertas novas possibilidades de comercialização do trigo russo, bem como da
certificação de registro de agroquímicos e defensivos e demais itens de
diversificação da pauta comercial bilateral.
Da reunião, buscou-se solucionar as divergências de caráter técnico na
questão da carne suína, quando serão remetidos através do Mapa, os
documentos de conformidade das empresas brasileiras. “O governo brasileiro
está buscando uma solução para resolver um a um os principais problemas
que preocupam o agronegócio nacional”, disse Mendes Ribeiro Filho. Na
próxima segunda-feira, 2 de abril, o secretário de Defesa Agropecuária, Enio
Antonio Marques Pereira, prossegue com as negociações, desta vez, em
Buenos Aires, onde encontra-se com o chefe do Serviço Veterinário russo,
Sergey Dankvert, para detalhar os encaminhamentos documentais necessários
a posterior análise do governo russo. A concretização para derrubar o impasse
comercial poderá acontecer ainda em 16 e 17 de abril em reunião do
MERCOSUL, ou mesmo em Bruxelas, Berlim ou Paris, este último, em
encontro da OIE, conforme sugeriu o ministério russo.
Em 2011, foram comercializados 124 mil toneladas de carne suína brasileira,
de um total exportado de 436 mil toneladas para todo mundo. O ministro
brasileiro deu garantias sanitárias para suprimento do mercado, reforçando o
controle de qualidade. A criação de joint ventures com empresas privadas do
Brasil ou mesmo investimentos da Rússia para importação de tecnologia
automatizada para processamento de matéria-prima em suínos é outro ponto
avaliado. “A Rússia é parceira na relação comercial e podemos aprofundar
ainda mais. Hoje firmamos pontos importantes em alguns contextos, avanços
mantém a qualidade e sanidade do produto brasileiro”, disse Mendes.
Neste segundo encontro com a ministra este ano – a primeira aconteceu em
Berlim, em fevereiro –, Mendes avançou na aproximação com os russos e
consolidou uma pauta de intenções, passando pela revisão de critérios
impostos no embargo em determinados estados. Somente no Rio Grande do
Sul, existem 41 plantas sem resposta de habilitação por parte dos russos no
segmento de frango e entrepostos comerciais (frigoríficos). Em alguns casos
específicos e individuais, já há liberação, mas ainda há restrição técnica para
os demais.
A comitiva brasileira, a exemplo das visitas na Albânia – onde derrubou as
restrições aos suínos – e Hungria durante esta semana , ainda manteve
contato com a delegação de empresários e representantes exportadores
brasileiros na Rússia e demais países da ex- URSS, traçando estratégias para
a abertura de mercado na região. Não está descartado ainda, um novo
encontro ministerial na Rio + 20, que acontece em junho no Brasil.
Zero Hora
31/03/2012
Embargo russo à carne estaria perto do fim
Mendes Ribeiro se reuniu com colega da Rússia para discutir restrições
Depois de se reunir com a ministra russa da Agricultura, Yelena Skrynnik, o
ministro Mendes Ribeiro Filho afirmou ontem que o embargo da Rússia à carne
brasileira “está chegando ao fim”. Imposta em junho do ano passado, a
restrição atrapalha negócios de produtores do Rio Grande do Sul.
Na segunda-feira, está marcada uma reunião em Buenos Aires entre técnicos
brasileiros e russos para aprofundar a avaliação dos frigoríficos brasileiros.
Mendes Ribeiro disse que alguns empecilhos podem ser superados no
encontro da próxima semana e resultar na retirada do embargo “de alguns
Estados ou alguns frigoríficos”. O ministro explicou que a reunião será
realizada em Buenos Aires porque o chefe do serviço sanitário russo, Sergey
Dankvert, tinha visitas programadas para Argentina e Chile. Mendes Ribeiro
afirmou que as reuniões fazem parte de um processo e que a relação entre os
dois países vem se fortalecendo.
– A Rússia contesta algumas questões que gradativamente estão sendo
vencidas a cada encontro. Ninguém pode dizer que o ministério pecou por
omissão – sustentou.
Segundo o ministro, o governo russo argumentou que a relação entre os dois
países passa por uma questão importante, que é a venda de trigo. Segundo o
relato de Mendes Ribeiro, a ministra ponderou sobre a importância do mercado
brasileiro para o trigo russo. Mendes Ribeiro pretende colocar o assunto em
discussão na próxima reunião do Mercosul, prevista para 16 e 17 de abril, pois
a questão afeta a Argentina, que é o principal fornecedor de trigo para o Brasil.
No ano passado, o embargo russo fez com que o Rio Grande do Sul perdesse
o primeiro lugar entre os exportadores de carne suína do Brasil. Alguns
produtores conseguiram compensar as perdas vendendo para outros
mercados.
Gazeta Digita
31/03/2012
Embargo russo à carne brasileira está acabando
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, disse nesta sexta-feira (30)
que o embargo russo às carnes exportadas por vários frigoríficos brasileiros,
incluindo todos do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato Grosso, “está
chegando ao fim”. Apesar do otimismo do ministro, que falou por telefone com
jornalistas após uma reunião, em Moscou, com a ministra da Agricultura da
Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, nenhum frigorífico adicional recebeu autorização para
exportar ao mercado russo durante a missão brasileira.
Segundo Mendes Ribeiro, técnicos brasileiros aproveitarão uma missão dos
russos que parte neste fim de semana para a Argentina para avançar nas
negociações. “Mostrei minha inquietação para uma resposta e ela (Yelena
Skrynnik) falou pra aproveitarmos a agenda na Argentina”, disse
“Estou muito otimista com a reunião técnica de segunda-feira em Buenos Aires
está chegando ao fim”. Mendes Ribeiro ressaltou que a Rússia é o maior
mercado importador de carnes bovina e suína brasileiras. “A Rússia contesta
algumas posições que gradativamente vem sendo vencidas, mas têm
confiança na qualidade dos produtos brasileiros”.
carnes. Atualmente, há 48 plantas brasileiras autorizadas a exportar para a
Rússia, sendo 29 de carne bovina, quatro de carne suína e 15 de carne de
aves. Outras 91 que figuram na lista de aprovadas pela União Aduaneira estão
O Estado de S. Paulo
31/03/2012
Embargo russo à carne está no fim, diz ministro
O embargo russo às carnes brasileiras, imposto em junho de 2011, "está
chegando ao fim", avaliou ontem o ministro da agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro
Filho, após reunião com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik.
Ele disse que está otimista em relação a reunião prevista para segunda-feira
em Buenos Aires entre técnicos brasileiros e russos para "aprofundar a
avaliação
das
plantas
brasileiras".
O ministro acredita que alguns empecilhos podem ser superados no encontro
da próxima semana e resultar na retirada do embargo "de alguns Estados ou
alguns frigoríficos". Segundo ele, a reunião será realizada em Buenos Aires
porque o chefe do serviço sanitário russo, Sergey Dankvert, tinha visitas
programadas
para
Argentina
e
Chile.
Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que as reuniões fazem parte de um processo e que a
relação entre os dois países vem se fortalecendo. "A Rússia contesta algumas
questões que gradativamente estão sendo vencidas a cada encontro", diz o
ministro, que reforça o papel da pasta no encaminhamento da questão.
"Ninguém pode dizer que o ministério pecou por omissão."
"Estou muito otimista com a reunião de segunda-feira na Argentina e diria que
o embargo está chegando ao fim. O que eu posso dizer como ministro é que
não deixei em nenhum momento que o ministério pecasse por omissão.
Estamos na frente, conversando, demonstrando nossa capacidade. Estou
percebendo que temos merecido crédito dos governos com os quais estamos
conversando." Segundo o ministro, o governo russo argumentou que a relação
entre os dois países passa por uma questão importante, que é a venda do
trigo.
Ele disse que a ministra Yelena Skrynnik ponderou sobre a importância do
mercado brasileiro para o trigo russo. Mendes Ribeiro pretende discutir o
assunto na próxima reunião do Mercosul, prevista para 16 e 17 de abril, pois a
questão afeta a Argentina, que é o principal fornecedor de trigo para o Brasil.
Correio do povo
31/03/2012
Rússia volta a exigir recompensa comercial
Missão termina sem acordo. Reunião debate venda de carnes na segunda
Após quase dez meses de embargo a 91 frigoríficos de carnes de ave, bovina e
suína, a Rússia negocia com o governo brasileiro a ampliação das exportações
de trigo como contrapartida para a derrubada do veto. O assunto foi abordado
ontem em encontro entre os ministros da Agricultura brasileiro, Mendes Ribeiro
Filho, e russa, Yelena Skrynnik. Ele ressaltou que aquele país produz grãos de
qualidade, mas que, para viabilizar a negociação, seria preciso estabelecer
limites às aquisições da Argentina para não prejudicar os triticultores nacionais.
Outro ponto avaliado foi a importação de tecnologia automatizada para
processamento de matéria-prima. "A Rússia é parceira na relação comercial e
podemos
aprofundar
ainda
mais",
disse.
Mesmo assim, ele garante estar otimista quanto ao fim do impasse. Na
segunda-feira, técnicos brasileiros e russos reúnem-se em Buenos Aires para
dar continuidade às negociações. O setor suinícola, que foi o mais afetado pela
medida, espera solução. O presidente da Abipecs, Pedro de Camargo Neto,
avalia que a situação vem evoluindo, já que, no ano passado, apenas um
frigorífico estava liberado e, hoje, já são quatro. "O ministro está se
empenhando. Não esperávamos que a Rússia se decidisse no ato." No RS, o
embargo afeta 24 estabelecimentos, sendo 11 de suínos, 10 de aves e três de
bovinos.
Ontem, o diretor de Assuntos Comerciais da Secretaria de Relações
Internacionais do Mapa, Benedito do Espírito Santo, esteve em Buenos Aires
para acertar detalhes do estabelecimento de cota para importação de carne
suína pela Argentina. Novo encontro deve ocorrer em Brasília. "Vamos abrir as
cotas para o Brasil de 3 mil toneladas", prometeu o vice-ministro argentino de
Agricultura, Lorenzo Basso.
G1
31/03/2012
Embargo russo à carne está no fim, diz ministro
O embargo russo às carnes brasileiras, imposto em junho de 2011, "está
chegando ao fim", avaliou nesta sexta-feira o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes
Ribeiro Filho, após reunião com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena
Skrynnik. Ele disse que está otimista em relação a reunião prevista para
segunda-feira em Buenos Aires entre técnicos brasileiros e russos para
"aprofundar a avaliação das plantas brasileiras".
O ministro acredita que alguns empecilhos podem ser superados no encontro
da próxima semana e resultar na retirada do embargo "de alguns Estados ou
alguns frigoríficos". Segundo ele, a reunião será realizada em Buenos Aires
porque o chefe do serviço sanitário russo, Sergey Dankvert, tinha visitas
programadas para Argentina e Chile.
Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que as reuniões fazem parte de um processo e que a
relação entre os dois países vem se fortalecendo. "A Rússia contesta algumas
questões que gradativamente estão sendo vencidas a cada encontro", diz o
ministro, que reforça o papel da pasta no encaminhamento da questão.
"Ninguém pode dizer que o ministério pecou por omissão."
"Estou muito otimista com a reunião de segunda-feira na Argentina e diria que
o embargo está chegando ao fim. O que eu posso dizer como ministro é que
não deixei em nenhum momento que o ministério pecasse por omissão.
Estamos na frente, conversando, demonstrando nossa capacidade. Estou
percebendo que temos merecido crédito dos governos com os quais estamos
conversando." Segundo o ministro, o governo russo argumentou que a relação
entre os dois países passa por uma questão importante, que é a venda do
trigo. As informações são do jornal O Estado de S. Paulo
Pantanal news
31/03/2012
Mendes Ribeiro filho e a ministra russa Elena Skrynnik tiveram reunião nesta
sexta-feira em Moscou
embargo sobre a carne suína brasileira, que perdura por nove meses. Na tarde
desta sexta-feira, 30 de março, a comitiva governamental liderada pelo ministro
da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, esteve em
Moscou negociando os últimos detalhes para habilitar novamente as plantas
exportadoras brasileiras para o comércio com a Rússia. Em reunião por mais
de uma hora com a ministra russa Elena Skrynnik e sua equipe técnica, foram
abertas novas possibilidades de comercialização do trigo russo, bem como da
certificação de registro de agroquímicos e defensivos e demais itens de
diversificação da pauta comercial bilateral.
os demais.
Diário do Vale
01/04/2012
Embargo russo pode cair, afirma Mendes Ribeiro
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, disse que o embargo russo às
carnes exportadas por vários frigoríficos brasileiros, incluindo todos do Rio
Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato Grosso, “está chegando ao fim”. Apesar do
otimismo do ministro, que falou por telefone com jornalistas após uma reunião,
em Moscou, com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, nenhum
frigorífico adicional recebeu autorização para exportar para o mercado russo
durante a missão brasileira.Segundo Mendes Ribeiro, técnicos brasileiros
aproveitarão uma missão dos russos que parte neste fim de semana para a
Argentina para avançar nas negociações.
- Mostrei minha inquietação para uma resposta e ela (Yelena Skrynnik) falou
pra aproveitarmos a agenda na Argentina - disse.
- Estou muito otimista com a reunião técnica de segunda-feira em Buenos Aires
está chegando ao fim - avaliou Mendes Ribeiro.
Ele ressaltou que a Rússia é o maior mercado importador de carnes bovina e
suína brasileiras.
- A Rússia contesta algumas posições que gradativamente vem sendo
vencidas, mas têm confiança na qualidade dos produtos brasileiros – disse.
carnes.
Dados do Departamento de Agricultura dos Estados Unidos (Usda, na sigla em
inglês), mostram que as importações de carnes, que em 2007 representavam
41,7% do consumo interno russo, estão estimadas para 25,5% neste ano.
Por seguimentos, considerando o mesmo período, as importações da Rússia
de carne de frango, que representavam 46,5% da demanda interna devem cair
para apenas 11,3%, e as da suína, de 35,3% para 27,5%. A importação de
carne bovina é a única que se mantém estável, em cerca de 43% do consumo
doméstico.
Portal do Agronegócio
02/04/2012
embargo sobre a carne suína brasileira, que perdura por nove meses
Na tarde desta sexta-feira, 30 de março, a comitiva governamental liderada
pelo ministro da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Mendes Ribeiro Filho,
esteve em Moscou negociando os últimos detalhes para habilitar novamente as
plantas exportadoras brasileiras para o comércio com a Rússia. Em reunião por
mais de uma hora com a ministra russa Elena Skrynnik e sua equipe técnica,
foram abertas novas possibilidades de comercialização do trigo russo, bem
como da certificação de registro de agroquímicos e defensivos e demais itens
de diversificação da pauta comercial bilateral.
os demais.
Época
02/04/2012
Brasil negocia comércio de carne com os EUA
O ministério da Agricultura enviará técnicos neste mês aos Estados Unidos.
Eles discutirão uma ampliação da cota de carne bovina que é exportada para o
país. A exportação da carne brasileira tem sido tratada como prioridade na
agenda internacional do ministro Mendes Ribeiro. Na semana passada, por
exemplo, ele realizou um longo tour entre a Europa e a Rússia apenas para
selar acordos para a compra de carne bovina e suína. Já no caso dos Estados
Unidos, ele pretende primeiro enviar o grupo técnico para negociar a ampliação
das cotas. Se houver acordo, o negócio deverá ser assinado na visita que a
presidente Dilma Rousseff fará ao país neste mês.
Jornal do Comércio
02/04/2012
Embargo quase no fim
O embargo russo à carne brasileira, em especial à procedente dos frigoríficos
gaúchos, catarinenses e paranaenses, está para acabar. Uma missão russa foi
à Argentina e técnicos brasileiros aproveitaram para avançar nas negociações.
Tudo foi combinado entre os ministros da Agricultura do Brasil, Mendes Ribeiro
(PMDB), e da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik. “A Rússia contesta algumas posições
que gradativamente vêm sendo vencidas, mas tem confiança na qualidade dos
produtos brasileiros”, afirmou Mendes.
Brasil Econômico
02/04/2012
Embargo russo à carne do Brasil está perto do fim
Essa é a expectativa do ministro da Agricultura, com o encontro que ocorre
hoje na Argentina
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, disse que o embargo russo às
carnes exportadas por vários frigoríficos brasileiros, incluindo todos do Rio
Grande do Sul, Paraná e de Mato Grosso, “está chegando ao fim”. Após falar,
por telefone, com a ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Yelena Skrynnik, Mendes
Ribeiro afirmou que técnicos brasileiros aproveitarão uma missão dos russos
que parte neste fim de semana para a Argentina para avançar nas
negociações.
“Mostrei minha inquietação para uma resposta e ela (Yelena Skrynnik) falou pra
aproveitarmos a agenda na Argentina”, disse. “Estou muito otimista com a
reunião técnica de segunda-feira (hoje) em Buenos Aires entre os governos
brasileiro e Russo para avaliar as plantas brasileiras. Isso está chegando ao
fim”, disse, ressaltando que a Rússia é o maior mercado importador de carnes
bovina e suína brasileiras. “A Rússia contesta algumas posições que
gradativamente vêm sendo vencidas, mas têm confiança na qualidade dos
produtos brasileiros.”
carnes. Dados do Departamento de Agricultura dos EUA, mostram que as
importações de carnes, que em 2007 representavam 41,7% do consumo
interno russo, estão estimadas para 25,5% neste ano. Atualmente, há 48
plantas brasileiras autorizadas a exportar para a Rússia. Outras 91 que figuram
na lista de aprovadas pela União Aduaneira estão embargadas.
Correio do povo
03/04/2012
Sem acordo com a missão russa
A reunião para tratar do embargo russo às carnes brasileiras entre técnicos do
governo de ambos os países, ontem, na Argentina, terminou sem acordo.
Segundo o Ministério da Agricultura, o debate foi interrompido devido a
problemas de agenda e as negociações prosseguem hoje,
Nesta terça-feira, o ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, participa da
abertura da reunião ordinária do Conselho Nacional de Secretários de
Agricultura (Conseagri), em Brasília. Além do chefe da Agricultura, também
participam o ministro do Desenvolvimento Agrário, Pepe Vargas, e o secretário
de Defesa Agropecuária do Mapa, Enio Marques.
O secretário gaúcho da Agricultura, Luiz Fernando Mainardi, estará no encontro
representando o Rio Grande do Sul.
Último Segundo
03/04/2012
Troca de ministro russo pode adiar solução para embargo de carne
Ministro Mendes Ribeiro aposta no bom senso para resolver impasse
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, afirmou nesta terça-feira que a
troca do ministro da Agricultura da Rússia, prevista para o dia 7 de maio
próximo, pode adiar uma solução para a retirada do embargo russo sobre as
exportações de carnes do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e Mato Grosso.
Na última sexta-feira, Mendes se reuniu em Moscou com a atual ministra Elena
Skrynnik, quando foi agendado o encontro realizado ontem em Buenos Aires,
entre o secretário de Defesa Agropecuária do Ministério da Agricultura, Enio
Antonio Marques Pereira, e o chefe
(Rosselkhoznadzor), Sergey Dankvert.
do
Serviço
Veterinário
russo
A reunião entre os técnicos, para acertar a vinda de nova missão russa ao
Brasil, não foi conclusiva. Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que mesmo com o processo
de mudanças na Rússia continuará negociando com as autoridades russas,
para "distensionar ainda mais as relações e ter algumas plantas liberadas".
Em relação à mudança no comando do ministério russo, Mendes Ribeiro
afirmou que preferia continuar negociando com Elena Skrynnik. Questionado
sobre a possibilidade de retrocesso nas negociações em função das mudanças
na Rússia, Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que "o principal fator nas conversas deve
ser o bom senso". Ele lembrou que existe um esforço do governo russo na
busca da autossuficiência na produção de carnes, mas destacou que o Brasil
precisa continuar investindo na melhoria da qualidade de seus produtos.
DBO
04/04/2012
Troca de ministros deve adiar fim do embargo
Ministra da Agricultura da Rússia, Elena Skrynnik, deve deixar o cargo em 7 de
maio
O ministro da Agricultura, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, afirmou nesta terça, dia 3, que
a troca do ministro da Agricultura da Rússia, prevista para o dia 7 de maio
próximo, pode adiar uma solução para a retirada doembargo russo sobre as
exportações de carnes do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e Mato Grosso.
Na última sexta, dia 30, Mendes se reuniu em Moscou com a atual ministra
Elena Skrynnik, quando foi agendado o encontro realizado na segunda, dia 2,
em Buenos Aires, entre o secretário de Defesa Agropecuária do Ministério da
Agricultura, Enio Marques, e o chefe do Serviço Veterinário russo
(Rosselkhoznadzor), Sergey Dankvert. A reunião entre os técnicos, para
acertar a vinda de nova missão russa ao Brasil, não foi conclusiva.
Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que mesmo com o processo de mudanças na Rússia
continuará negociando com as autoridades russas, para "distensionar ainda
mais as relações e ter algumas plantas liberadas". Em relação à mudança no
comando do ministério russo, Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que preferia continuar
negociando com Elena Skrynnik.
Questionado sobre a possibilidade de retrocesso nas negociações em função
das mudanças na Rússia, Mendes Ribeiro afirmou que "o principal fator nas
conversas deve ser o bom senso". Ele lembrou que existe um esforço do
governo russo na busca da autossuficiência na produção de carnes, mas
destacou que o Brasil precisa continuar investindo na melhoria da qualidade de
seus produtos.
PÁGINA DO EVENTO DO FINANCIAL TIMES
http://www.ftconferences.com/sustainableagri
Thank you to those who attended the FT Sustainable Agriculture Summit 2012 which
took place on 29 March in London.
Photos from the event are available to view and download here.
In just over three decades Brazil went from a net importer of agricultural produce to
agricultural super-power. Some describe the Brazilian model as miraculous - and one
that might be exported. Others, however, believe the environment is paying too high a
price for the Brazilian agricultural 'miracle', and that Brazil's emerging role as an
agricultural superpower may be incompatible with its custodianship of much of the
Amazon rainforest.
The FT Sustainable Agriculture Summit will gather senior policy-makers,
agribusiness executives and NGOs to look at sustainable agriculture through the prism
of the Brazil model, and to critically examine the new initiatives, technology and
policies aimed at addressing today's sustainable agriculture challenges.
Co-Chairs
Javier Blas
Commodities Editor
Financial Times
the UK
Jonathan Wheatley
Deputy Emerging Markets
Editor
Financial Times
Keynote
Ministerial Address
His Excellency
Roberto Jaguaribe
Ambassador of Brazil to
Mendes Ribeiro Filho
Minister of Agriculture
Federative Republic of
Brazil
GALERIA DE IMAGENS DO EVENTO
INVEST IN BRAZIL
Home
Ministry of Agriculture highlights sustainability of Brazilian
agriculture during event in London
The advance of sustainability in soil management and environmental preservation, the
emission of low carbon and the positive indicators of food production, which guarantee
security to combat the hunger in the world, were some of the issues discussed during the
lecture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) Mendes Ribeiro Filho. The
lecture took place yesterday at the Marriott Square in London, during the FT Sustainable
Agriculture Summit. The event counted with the Brazilian participation of representatives of
ethanol, livestock (beef and poultry), citrus and soybean production and has expanded the
discussion panel, and revealed Brazil on increasing ascension in the international scenario.
The challenges and innovations on the context of increasing the agricultural production
presented in lectures with the authorities of the European Commission of Economic
Community (ECEC), in addition to other segments, caused great expectations among the
participants, especially in the aspects raised about the biofuel and the preservation of native
forests – and consequently, the legislation confinement on the acquisition of land by
foreigners – transgenic, in addition to the theme of the moment: the approval of the Forest
Code.
Mendes Ribeiro Filho highlighted the Brazil Without Misery program of Dilma Rousseff’s
government, which seeks to fight hunger and extreme poverty in Brazil. In rural areas, the
minister recalled programs like the ‘Green Aid’, Brazil Rural Network and the Agriculture of
Low Carbon Emission. “From North to South of Brazil, these programs are allied to the
environmental
protection
and
further
income
30 March 2012
http://www.investinbrazil.biz/node/4632
to
the
rural
areas”,
he
said.
PrintBack to story
Brazil Agriculture Minister to Discuss Russian Meat Ban
Tomorrow
By Isis Almeida and Karen Eeuwens - Mar 29, 2012
Brazilian agriculture minister Mendes Ribeiro Filho will travel to Russia to discuss a
ban on shipments of meat from certain companies from the South American country, he
said in an interview in London today.
The Brazilian delegation is flying to Russia today and will meet with Russian
authorities tomorrow, he said in the interview.
Russia imposed a ban on imports of meat from some Brazilian companies in the states
of Parana, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul in June, according to
Rosselkhoznadzor, a food safety watchdog in Russia.
To contact the reporters on this story: Isis Almeida in London at
[email protected]; Karen Eeuwens in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at
[email protected]
®2012 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PrintBack to story
Brazil’s Government May Stockpile Coffee in 2012 to Help
Farmers
Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, may stockpile beans to help farmers as
production this year climbs to a record, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Coffee output will probably rise to a record in the 2012-13 season starting in July as
trees enter the higher-yielding half of a two-year cycle, the government said. Production
is expected to be 49 million to 52.3 million bags, exceeding the high of 48.5 million
bags in 2002, according to a Jan. 10 report from Conab, the government’s crop
forecasting agency. A bag of coffee weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
“What we can do to adjust the balance is take the product off the market, find more
markets to sell it, or utilize it in the domestic market,” Mendes Ribeiro Filho, the
country’s agriculture minister, said in an interview in London today.
Brazil may overtake the U.S. as the world’s top coffee consumer, he said. The South
American country consumed 18.9 million bags of coffee in 2010, up 4 percent from a
year earlier, according to the London-based International Coffee Organization. That
compares with 21.8 million bags used in the U.S., the biggest consumer and an increase
of 1.6 percent, ICO data show.
Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar, will invest in the industry after production
in the Center South, the country’s main sugar cane growing region, fell for the first time
in a decade, the minister said, without providing a figure.
Sugar cane output in the 2011-12 season through Feb. 15 was 494.3 million metric tons,
down 11 percent from a year earlier, industry group Unica estimates.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Deane at [email protected]
PrintBack to story
Arabica Premium Seen Higher on Robusta Supply Surge:
Commodities
By Marvin G. Perez and Isis Almeida - Apr 3, 2012
The premium paid for arabica beans favored by Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) over the
robusta used by Nestle SA (NESN)may rally from a 20-month low because of a surge
in supply fromVietnam, the biggest grower of the less costly coffee.
Arabica fell 18 percent in New York this year on prospects for a record Brazilian crop
as robusta rose 13 percent in London because of fewer cargoes from Vietnam. The
premium dropped to 83.89 cents a pound on March 29, the lowest since July 2010. It
will widen to $1.162 by the end of the year, the average of 18 analyst estimates
compiled by Bloomberg shows.
Farmers in Vietnam have been stockpiling robusta as a hedge against consumer prices
that surged 23 percent in August, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. With inflation
moderating to 14 percent in March and harvests about to start in Indonesia andBrazil,
they may now accelerate sales, the bank predicts. Arabica is poised to rally 10 percent
in the next three months, as drought in Brazil threatens the crop and demand from
emerging markets strengthens, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates.
“People have focused on the shortage of robusta supplies, and that will change as the
crops in Indonesia and Brazil come in and put pressure on the Vietnamese farmers to
release their record crop,” said Keith Flury, an analyst at Rabobank in London. “The
market is also seriously underestimating how tight the arabica supply-and-demand
balance will be.”
Arabica Rebound
Arabica traded on ICE Futures U.S. fell 20 percent in the first three months of the year,
the biggest quarterly decline in more than a decade, and reached a 17-month low of
$1.7445 a pound on March 22. Futures that closed at $1.862 yesterday will reach $2 in
three months, Goldman’s commodity research team, led by Jeffrey Currie in London,
wrote in a report March 28.
Robusta jumped 12 percent in the first quarter, the biggest gain in a year, and traded at
$2,031 a metric ton (92.12 cents a pound) yesterday on NYSE Liffe. Prices will average
$1,600 in the fourth quarter, 21 percent less than now, Rabobank’s Flury wrote in a
report on March 27.
Arabica is the second-worst performer this year in the Standard & Poor’s Spot GSCI
Index of 24 commodities, behind natural gas. The gauge advanced 8.2 percent as the
MSCI All-Country World Index of equities added 12 percent. Treasuries lost 1.2
percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.
Starbucks Costs
Higher arabica prices may raise costs for Seattle-based Starbucks and Waterbury,
Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) Cheaper robusta may
help Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle, which uses the variety to make Nescafe and has
about 51 percent of the global instant-coffee market, according to Euromonitor
International.
Global robusta supply will exceed demand by 1.2 million bags in the year that begins in
October, compared with a 1 million-bag shortage in the current season, according to
Winterthur, Switzerland-based Volcafe. Each bag weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
Arabica output will outpace consumption by about 800,000 bags in 2012-2013,
compared with a 6 million-bag deficit in the current season, the unit of ED&F Man
Holdings Ltd., a London-based commodities trader, forecast in a quarterly report in
February.
The anticipated gains in arabica prices may be curbed by signs that economic growth is
slowing, said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion of assets at
BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. Prices fell 18 percent in 2008,
amid the worst global recession since World War II. The premium to robusta narrowed
to as little as 26.1 cents in March 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Slowing Growth
The International Monetary Fund expects world growth to slow to 3.3 percent this
year, from 3.8 percent in 2011, andEurope to contract 0.5 percent as it struggles to
contain a debt crisis. The pace of the recovery in the U.S., the world’s biggest coffee
user, has been “extremely sluggish,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said
on March 29.
“Coffee is caught in a down trend,” Hellwig said. “We’re concerned with global growth
stalling. There’s growth there, but we’re not seeing demand growth exceeding supply
growth.”
Hedge funds and other money managers have been betting on lower arabica prices
since mid-February, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. They held a
net-short position of 9,964 futures and options contracts in the week ended March 27.
Funds increased their net-long position in robusta during the same week by 8.5 percent
to 8,345 contracts, the most since NYSE Liffe started publishing the data in October.
Speculator Holdings
Wagers on robusta may be reversed once Vietnamese farmers accelerate shipments.
They sold about 70 percent of the current season’s crop so far, preferring to hold on to
beans, according to Volcafe. The start of harvests in Brazil and Indonesia next month
and slower domestic inflation probably will spur them to reverse that trend, said Kona
Haque, an analyst at Macquarie in London.
Production in Indonesia, the third-biggest robusta grower behind Vietnam and Brazil,
may rise 38 percent to 11 million bags in the season starting in April, the Indonesian
Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute estimates.
Arabica supplies may be tighter than futures markets are anticipating. While the
government of Brazil, the largest grower, has forecast a record crop in the marketing
year that begins in July, most of the gains will be in robusta and arabica output may
actually decline, estimates Terra Forte Exportacao e Importacao de Cafe Ltda., the
country’s second-largest exporter.
More Robusta
Growers of arabica, which will enter the higher-yielding half of a two-year production
cycle in July, will collect 37.4 million bags, almost 11 percent less than they did in the
previous peak year, Terra Forte predicts. Robusta output will climb to 16.5 million bags,
from 14.3 million a year earlier, the Sao Joao da Boa Vista, Brazil-based company
forecasts.
The Brazilian government may stockpile beans to help farmers, Agriculture Minister
Mendes Ribeiro Filho said in an interview in London on March 29. Brazil exported 27.4
million bags of arabica and 2.7 million bags of robusta in 2011, according to its coffee
exporters’ council, known as Cecafe.
Arabica inventories at ICE-monitored warehouses are 41 percent smaller than two
years ago, before prices began a rally to a 14-year high in May 2011, exchange data
show. Stockpiles may not be replenished soon because heavier-than-normal rainfall in
Colombia, the second-biggest grower of the variety, damaged crops. Production may
fall to as low as 7.5 million bags this season, a 36-year low, according to Andres
Valencia, the marketing chief at the National Federation of Coffee Growers.
“Robusta should weaken over time, as production is going to catch up,” John
Stephenson, who helps manage $2.7 billion of assets at First Asset Investment
Management Inc. in Toronto, said in an interview. “At the same time, you have demand
growth in arabica and fairly tight inventories, so I would expect to see robusta fade a bit
and relative strength in arabica.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at
[email protected]; Isis Almeida in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at [email protected]
04/04/12
Russia, Brazil Are Discussing Shipments of Wheat, Ministers Say - Bloomberg
Russia, Brazil Are Discussing Shipments of Wheat,
Ministers Say
By Marina Sysoyeva - Mar 30, 2012
Russia and Brazil are discussing shipments of the former Soviet state’s wheat to the South
American country.
Y elena Skrynnik, Russia’s agriculture minister, and Brazilian counterpart Jorge Mendes Ribeiro
Filho discussed exports of the grain at a meeting in Moscow today, the Russian agriculture
ministry said in an e-mailed statement.
“I am sure that shipments of Russian wheat will become an important item in our countries’ trade
volume,” Ribeiro said in the statement. He said he would promote Russian wheat in the Brazilian
market, according to the ministry, which gave no further details on the possible volume of wheat
supplies.
The ministers met to discuss agricultural cooperation, including meat shipments after Russia
banned supplies from some Brazilian packing plants last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marina Sysoyeva in Moscow at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at [email protected]
bloomberg.com/news/print/…/russia-brazil-are-discussing-shipments-of-wheat-ministers-say.html
1/1
04/04/12
Brazil’s Government May Stockpile Coffee in 2012 to Help Farmers - Bloomberg
Brazil’s Government May Stockpile Coffee in 2012 to
Help Farmers
Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, may stockpile beans to help farmers as production this
year climbs to a record, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Coffee output will probably rise to a record in the 2012-13 season starting in July as trees enter the
higher-yielding half of a two-year cycle, the government said. Production is expected to be 49
million to 52.3 million bags, exceeding the high of 48.5 million bags in 2002, according to a Jan.
10 report from Conab, the government’s crop forecasting agency. A bag of coffee weighs 60
kilograms (132 pounds).
“What we can do to adjust the balance is take the product off the market, find more markets to sell
it, or utilize it in the domestic market,” Mendes Ribeiro Filho, the country’s agriculture minister,
said in an interview in London today.
Brazil may overtake the U.S. as the world’s top coffee consumer, he said. The South American
country consumed 18.9 million bags of coffee in 2010, up 4 percent from a year earlier, according
to the London-based International Coffee Organization. That compares with 21.8 million bags
used in the U.S., the biggest consumer and an increase of 1.6 percent, ICO data show.
Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar, will invest in the industry after production in the
Center South, the country’s main sugar cane growing region, fell for the first time in a decade, the
minister said, without providing a figure.
Sugar cane output in the 2011-12 season through Feb. 15 was 494.3 million metric tons, down 11
percent from a year earlier, industry group Unica estimates.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Deane at [email protected]
bloomberg.com/news/print/…/brazil-s-government-may-stockpile-coffee-in-2012-to-help-farmers.html
1/1
04/04/12
Brazil Agriculture Minister to Discuss Russian Meat Ban Tomorrow - Bloomberg
Brazil Agriculture Minister to Discuss Russian Meat
Ban Tomorrow
Brazilian agriculture minister Mendes Ribeiro Filho will travel to Russia to discuss a ban on
shipments of meat from certain companies from the South American country, he said in an
interview in London today.
The Brazilian delegation is flying to Russia today and will meet with Russian authorities
tomorrow, he said in the interview.
Russia imposed a ban on imports of meat from some Brazilian companies in the states of Parana,
Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul in June, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, a food safety
watchdog in Russia.
To contact the reporters on this story: Isis Almeida in London at [email protected]; Karen
Eeuwens in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at [email protected]
bloomberg.com/news/print/…/brazil-agriculture-minister-to-discuss-russian-meat-ban-tomorrow.html
1/1
04/04/12
Arabica Premium Seen Higher on Robusta Supply Surge: Commodities - Bloomberg
Arabica Premium Seen Higher on Robusta Supply
Surge: Commodities
By Marvin G. Perez and Isis Almeida - Apr 3, 2012
The premium paid for arabica beans favored by Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) over the robusta used by
Nestle SA (NESN) may rally from a 20-month low because of a surge in supply from Vietnam, the
biggest grower of the less costly coffee.
Arabica fell 18 percent in New Y ork this year on prospects for a record Brazilian crop as robusta
rose 13 percent in London because of fewer cargoes from Vietnam. The premium dropped to 83.89
cents a pound on March 29, the lowest since July 2010. It will widen to $1.162 by the end of the
year, the average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows.
Farmers in Vietnam have been stockpiling robusta as a hedge against consumer prices that surged
23 percent in August, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. With inflation moderating to 14 percent
in March and harvests about to start in Indonesia and Brazil, they may now accelerate sales, the
bank predicts. Arabica is poised to rally 10 percent in the next three months, as drought in Brazil
threatens the crop and demand from emerging markets strengthens, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
estimates.
“People have focused on the shortage of robusta supplies, and that will change as the crops in
Indonesia and Brazil come in and put pressure on the Vietnamese farmers to release their record
crop,” said Keith Flury, an analyst at Rabobank in London. “The market is also seriously
underestimating how tight the arabica supply-and-demand balance will be.”
Arabica Rebound
Arabica traded on ICE Futures U.S. fell 20 percent in the first three months of the year, the biggest
quarterly decline in more than a decade, and reached a 17-month low of $1.7445 a pound on
March 22. Futures that closed at $1.862 yesterday will reach $2 in three months, Goldman’s
commodity research team, led by Jeffrey Currie in London, wrote in a report March 28.
Robusta jumped 12 percent in the first quarter, the biggest gain in a year, and traded at $2,031 a
metric ton (92.12 cents a pound) yesterday on NY SE Liffe. Prices will average $1,600 in the fourth
quarter, 21 percent less than now, Rabobank’s Flury wrote in a report on March 27.
Arabica is the second-worst performer this year in the Standard & Poor’s Spot GSCI Index of 24
commodities, behind natural gas. The gauge advanced 8.2 percent as the MSCI All- Country World
bloomberg.com/news/…/arabica-premium-seen-higher-on-robusta-supply-surge-commodities.html
1/3
04/04/12
Index of equities added 12 percent. Treasuries lost 1.2 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index
shows.
Starbucks Costs
Higher arabica prices may raise costs for Seattle-based Starbucks and Waterbury, Vermont-based
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) Cheaper robusta may help Vevey, Switzerlandbased Nestle, which uses the variety to make Nescafe and has about 51 percent of the global
instant-coffee market, according to Euromonitor International.
Global robusta supply will exceed demand by 1.2 million bags in the year that begins in October,
compared with a 1 million-bag shortage in the current season, according to Winterthur,
Switzerland-based Volcafe. Each bag weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds). Arabica output will
outpace consumption by about 800,000 bags in 2012-2013, compared with a 6 million- bag deficit
in the current season, the unit of ED&F Man Holdings Ltd., a London-based commodities trader,
forecast in a quarterly report in February.
The anticipated gains in arabica prices may be curbed by signs that economic growth is slowing,
said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion of assets at BB&T Wealth
Management in Birmingham, Alabama. Prices fell 18 percent in 2008, amid the worst global
recession since World War II. The premium to robusta narrowed to as little as 26.1 cents in March
2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Slowing Growth
The International Monetary Fund expects world growth to slow to 3.3 percent this year, from 3.8
percent in 2011, and Europe to contract 0.5 percent as it struggles to contain a debt crisis. The pace
of the recovery in the U.S., the world’s biggest coffee user, has been “extremely sluggish,” Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on March 29.
“Coffee is caught in a down trend,” Hellwig said. “We’re concerned with global growth stalling.
There’s growth there, but we’re not seeing demand growth exceeding supply growth.”
Hedge funds and other money managers have been betting on lower arabica prices since midFebruary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. They held a net-short position of
9,964 futures and options contracts in the week ended March 27. Funds increased their net-long
position in robusta during the same week by 8.5 percent to 8,345 contracts, the most since NY SE
Liffe started publishing the data in October.
Speculator Holdings
Wagers on robusta may be reversed once Vietnamese farmers accelerate shipments. They sold
about 70 percent of the current season’s crop so far, preferring to hold on to beans, according to
Volcafe. The start of harvests in Brazil and Indonesia next month and slower domestic inflation
2/3
04/04/12
probably will spur them to reverse that trend, said Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie in
London.
Production in Indonesia, the third-biggest robusta grower behind Vietnam and Brazil, may rise 38
percent to 11 million bags in the season starting in April, the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa
Research Institute estimates.
Arabica supplies may be tighter than futures markets are anticipating. While the government of
Brazil, the largest grower, has forecast a record crop in the marketing year that begins in July,
most of the gains will be in robusta and arabica output may actually decline, estimates Terra Forte
Exportacao e Importacao de Cafe Ltda., the country’s second-largest exporter.
More Robusta
Growers of arabica, which will enter the higher-yielding half of a two-year production cycle in
July, will collect 37.4 million bags, almost 11 percent less than they did in the previous peak year,
Terra Forte predicts. Robusta output will climb to 16.5 million bags, from 14.3 million a year
earlier, the Sao Joao da Boa Vista, Brazil-based company forecasts.
The Brazilian government may stockpile beans to help farmers, Agriculture Minister Mendes
Ribeiro Filho said in an interview in London on March 29. Brazil exported 27.4 million bags of
arabica and 2.7 million bags of robusta in 2011, according to its coffee exporters’ council, known as
Cecafe.
Arabica inventories at ICE-monitored warehouses are 41 percent smaller than two years ago,
before prices began a rally to a 14-year high in May 2011, exchange data show. Stockpiles may not
be replenished soon because heavier-than-normal rainfall in Colombia, the second-biggest grower
of the variety, damaged crops. Production may fall to as low as 7.5 million bags this season, a 36year low, according to Andres Valencia, the marketing chief at the National Federation of Coffee
Growers.
“Robusta should weaken over time, as production is going to catch up,” John Stephenson, who
helps manage $2.7 billion of assets at First Asset Investment Management Inc. in Toronto, said in
an interview. “At the same time, you have demand growth in arabica and fairly tight inventories,
so I would expect to see robusta fade a bit and relative strength in arabica.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New Y ork at [email protected];
Isis Almeida in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at [email protected]
3/3
“It is not easy to impose
EU standards on imports”
April 3, 2012 No. 2508
Cees Vermeeren,
AVEC secretary
general
page 15
Farm subsidies could shed funds
for EU product promotion policy
The EU’s Agriculture Commissioner has defended his vision to trim CAP direct payments in order to multiply
spending on the bloc’s promotion policy aimed at reinforcing the sales potential of EU farm products at
home and abroad.
The agri-food industry is the largest economic sector in the bloc in terms of jobs and
turnover but current promotion instruments
“are not really able to fulfill the potential the
sector has”, Dacian Ciolos told reporters.
However, the Commissioner ruled out
proposing an increase to the CAP budget
in order to cater for a rise in promotion
spending, meaning that cuts will have to be
made elsewhere.
The amount of funding that could be called
for once the budget lines for the next edition of
farm policy are set “could be in the hundreds
of millions of euros a year”, he revealed, which
would require member states to give up “less
than 1% of their direct payments”.
While the wine sector receives €112 million
a year in promotion funds from other schemes
within the CAP, only around €50m a year is
spent from the EU budget on the general CAP
scheme promotion of agri-food products, he
pointed out. EU agri-food exports are currently
worth €100 billion, with two thirds of the value
held by finished and processed goods.
The administrative burden attached to promotion projects, seen as being the largest defect
to the 12-year-old policy, is to be targeted under
the new-look scheme from 2014, officials
working on the revamp told Agra Europe.
The EU’s umbrella farm lobby CopaCogeca reacted by welcoming this focus:
secretary general Pekka Pesonen announcing
he was “happy to see that the Commission
backs [Copa-Cogeca’s] demands”. Current
selection procedures take an average of seven
months, a time officials say will be shortened.
The possibility of tweaking co-financing
rates in order to attract greater take-up is also
“to be discussed”, said Ciolos, who noted
that some member states “don’t use existing
instruments very much at all” – mainly
referring to the EU12.
Under the current rules, 50% of a project’s
funds come from the EU budget, 30% from a
government and 20% from the organisation
carrying it out.
Key Indicator
Snapshot
CBOT Wheat
613
Fruit and vegetables have been the
greatest beneficiaries in terms of accepted
programmes so far, followed by dairy
products, wines, geographical indication (GI)
and organic products.
The Commission had published a Green
Paper on the future policy last July, also
suggesting the inclusion of specific brands
and regional origins and a greater role for
agri-food companies – albeit with a ban on
direct promotion of their products.
Brand names “can have a leveraging
effect”, the paper notes, awaiting an impact
assessment on how company involvement
should be organised.
Some products could be promoted using
public and private money, said officials.
However, the policy is not designed to replace
the latter but provide a ‘special European
dimension’, states the Communication. An EU
heading could be used for some while others
would retain a national logo, revealed sources.
‘Opinion multipliers’
Italy and France currently take up almost a
third of all promotion projects while 70% are
aimed at consumers in the EU – a figure to be
addressed in legislative proposals due to be
issued by the end of the year, said officials.
Advertising campaigns launched in third
countries would target ‘opinion multipliers’
– specific social groups expected to hold a
strong influence on the wider population, they
explained.
All EU food products are to be considered
as ‘quality’ products abroad and be eligible
for promotion funding, they added, with
wine among products thought to hold greater
potential for being involved in projects than
seen so far.
Projects involving more than one EU
member state are also to be encouraged they
said, with multi-country schemes currently
making up just 9% of their total.
Local markets and short supply chains will
CBOT Maize
-5.4%
¢/60lb bu w/e Mar 30
605
CBOT Soyabeans
-6.3%
1 356 +0.4%
not feature under promotion policy, the paper
reveals, with some member states raising
objections to the idea in the past. Separate cooperation projects will be covered under the
CAP’s second pillar, it adds.
Commissioner Ciolos has until now taken
part in annual ‘High Level Missions’ in order to
bang the drum for EU produce in third countries.
Agra Europe understands that the
Commissioner’s trip to China last year could
be repeated in May, while a visit to Japan and
South Korea is being considered for autumn,
ahead of the legislative proposal.
Member states last December called for a
“more ambitious and cost-effective policy”
with increased emphasis on third country
markets, also calling for multi-country and
multi-product schemes to be encouraged.
Inside this issue:
UK’s largest animal feed
producer sold for €85m
2
Protectionism will not halt
EU-Mercosur talks
4
‘Limited’ CAP reform only
political option, think tank
concludes7
Official predicts only minor
change in cane production 9
EU cattle prices hit new
heights despite export
slowdown15
The EU dairy industry:
skating towards a
redrawn future
Find more key data on-line
at www.agra-net.com
19
April 3, 2012 No. 2508
UK’s largest animal feed
producer sold for €85m
Contents
Agra News
2
Policy & Legislation
4
EU decision-makers issue timeline warning
Arable8
Weekly trade update and commodity
price trend graphs
Weather Watch
12
Poultrymeat13
Poultrymeat sector caught between
consumer demands and world trade
Meat & Livestock
15
Farm Industry News
17
Increase in European tractor registrations
Comment & Analysis
18
The return of the nation state to CAP policy
Company News
Agra News
20
Most read…
Do you see our daily email alerts?
Below are the most clicked-on
daily news stories this week:
1 Academic presents MEPs with
CAP choices
2 WTO members seek ‘new
approach’ to agriculture talks
3 EU-Mercosur talks on track
despite increased protectionism
4 EU decision-makers issue CAP
timeline warning
5 EU cattle prices hit new highs
despite export slowdown
BOCM Pauls, the UK’s largest animal feed manufacturer, is to be acquired
by Dutch group ForFarmers in a deal valued at €85 million.
The acquistion further expands ForFarmer’s
footprint in Europe, after its recent acquisition
of the Hendrix compound feed business from
Nutreco (see AE2507, 27.03.12, page 2).
The deal for BOCM Pauls, which
involves the purchase of all the shares in
its parent company, Agricola Group, will
be completed once ForFarmers Group has
gained shareholder approval and is subject to
clearance by the EU competition authorities.
BOCM Pauls is the UK’s leading feed
manufacturer which sells in excess of two
million tonnes of compounds, blends and
co-products.
The deal comes just days after
the European Commission approved
ForFarmer’s acquisition of Hendrix.
Together the two firms produce around 6.5mt
of compound feeds and other feed materials
in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
BOCM Pauls chief executive, Bill Mayne,
said “the acquisition of BOCM Pauls will create
a new group which will be the clear market
leader in Europe with feed sales of around 8.8
million tonnes. The financial strength of the
new Group and the scale of its operations will
create competitive advantage and will benefit
employees and customers alike.”
BOCM Pauls will operate as the UK feed
company of ForFarmers Group and will trade
with a high degree of autonomy, according
to Mayne, who said the the firm’s new
owners are committed to supporting further
investment and growth.
Mayne said the deal comes at a time of
renewed opportunity for the UK food and
farming industry and provides the company
with the “financial strength to ensure its
future success as part of the number one
company in Europe and one of the largest
feed companies in the world”.
Meanwhile, ForFarmers CEO BertJan Ruumpol described the acquisition as
a major step in the group’s international
growth ambitions. “All companies within
the ForFarmers Group can use each
other’s resources which will provide great
opportunities for all involved,” he concluded.
Support for ‘greening menu’ option
The European Parliament’s agriculture committee chair has lent his
support to the idea of letting EU member states choose from a ‘menu’ of
environmental measures that would be linked to 30% of CAP subsidies.
Allowing governments to pick out ‘greening’ practices that best suit their farmers
“could be the way forward”, Italian MEP
Paolo De Castro suggested at last week’s
Forum for the Future of Agriculture event
in Brussels.
The idea, put to MEPs last week, is being
pursued by a group of nine or ten member
states who will present the alternative to
the uniform approach proposed by the
Commission in the coming weeks, Agra
Europe understands.
The move is backed by member states
such as the UK, Ireland and Sweden who
had wanted greening to remain in Pillar Two
– yet what the options other than those put
forward could be remains unclear.
Brussels wants 30% of direct payments
to depend on fulfilment of three EU-wide
measures: crop diversification, maintaining
permanent pastures and a 7% ‘ecological
focus area’ (see AE2485, 18.10.11, page 7).
With fears circulating over added
bureaucracy and costs, the EU executive
must show that the steps can be “easily
implemented” in all member states, added
De Castro.
“There is a risk some farmers will not
be able to apply the measures and will have
to give money back,” warned the Italian,
who will oversee the Parliament’s CAP
discussions throughout the negotiations.
Mexico bans livestock genetic imports
For more news visit:
Mexico has joined the US and Uruguay in banning imports of
genetic material from the European Union, citing concerns over the
Schmallenberg virus.
Contact us for your on-line password
today call +44 (0)20 7017 7499 or
email [email protected]
Mexico’s food safety agency Senasica said
the ban will stay in place until more is known
about how the disease is transmitted.
The restrictions apply to imports of semen
and embryos of sheep, goats and cattle from
all EU member states.
www.agraeurope.com
2
www.agraeurope.com
Similar measures have been announced by
the US (see AE2506, 20.03.12, page 2), along
with Uruguay, where the authorities said the
ban will hold “until such time as it can be
demonstrated that Schmallenberg cannot be
transmitted by genetic material”.
© Informa UK Ltd 2012 - agra europe
April 3, 2012
Agra News
Battle lines are drawn for
2013 EU budget talks
News in brief:
Subsidies to be repaid
European Parliament and member state representatives have given
contrasting visions for the EU’s 2013 budget, ahead of formal negotiations
that will kick off later this month.
MEPs will fight for next year’s budget to be
“appropriately funded”, insisted Italian MEP
Giovanni La Via during ‘trilogue’ talks with
the European Commission and Council on
Tuesday (March 27).
However, Danish foreign minister Nicolai
Wammem, whose country holds the rotating
EU Presidency until June, stressed the need
for a “realistic” budget on the behalf of
finance ministers, said sources.
A consensus is said to exist among
MEPs that increases in the Parliament’s
own budget should be limited to 1.9% yearon-year, not including additional needs for
Croatia’s accession, as requested by Budget
Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski. The EU executive will in the coming
weeks present its plan for the bloc’s
spending in 2013, with member states
urging “discipline at all levels” and the need
for “strict control”.
A further trilogue will then take place on
July 9, with Council scheduled to issue its
first reading of the spending proposals in the
same month.
MEPs will vote on the position taken by
member states three months later, with a
‘conciliation’ period expected to take place
between October 24 and November 13,
involving two trilogue meetings.
Agreement on the bloc’s 2012 budget
was only agreed at the last minute after
conciliation talks in December, with
agriculture spending trimmed €86m yearon-year in real terms.
However, the Commission will review
the bloc’s budget in September and could
call on national treasuries to plug any gaps
between spending and commitments.
The payments ceiling for next year’s
budget is €143.3 billion – 1.05% of the EU’s
gross national income (GNI) – as determined
by the multiannual financial framework
(MFF) for 2007-2013.
The budget for this year is €129.1bn,
after member states and MEPs finally agreed
on a 1.86% year-on-year increase – a cut of
€12bn in real terms from 2011.
A consensus is said to exist
among MEPs that increases
in the Parliament’s own
budget should be limited to
1.9% year-on-year
UK challenges Brussels over CAP reform
The UK has several significant disagreements with the direction of
European agricultural policy reform proposals, according to Martin Nesbit,
director of EU, international and CAP reform at farm ministry Defra.
He told the FT Sustainable Agriculture
Summit in London that the UK wants to
see enhanced agricultural production and
increased environmental benefits, but Defra
has its doubts that current proposals from
EU Farm Commissioner Dacias Ciolos will
achieve this.
“The proposals fall short of delivery.
We favour a greater move away from
income supports over time. The proposals
on greening also don’t actually deliver that
much in terms of actual environmental
benefits. We also have concerns
about devoting 7% of EU farmland
as environmental focus areas as being
appropriate for the UK,” Nesbit explained.
However, he welcomed the CAP reform
commitment to increased R&D spending,
which would help the UK expand on its
development of ‘climate-smart’ agriculture
and more sustainable but intensified farm
productivity.
Key Indicator
Snapshot
Responding to questions from Agra
Europe on the disparity between EU
and Brazilian policies on GM crops and
biofuels, Nesbit conceded that he sensed
a gradual shift emerging in European
policy, particularly towards favouring
drought-resistant crops that can help tackle
the impacts of climate change and other
environmental problems.
However, he was far less supportive of
shifting European GM policy to memberstate level, as suggested by Denmark
and some other countries, which he
thought could conflict with existing World
Trade Organisation and internal market
commitments.
On biofuels, while Nesbit agreed there
were short to medium term benefits, he did
not think they offered a solution to longterm energy sustainability, especially while
there remained significant impacts on food
crop production.
Liffe Rapeseed
Liffe white sugar
Nymex crude oil
€/tonne w/e Mar 30
$/tonne w/e Mar 30
$/Barrel w/e Mar 30
491 -9.6% 644+1.1% 103-3.7%
Slovenia will be required to pay back
€8.3 million in farm subsidies to the EU
after an audit by the European Commission
found irregularities in the distribution of
payments. Branko Ravnik, the state secretary
at the country’s agriculture and environment
ministry, said the Commission found a
number of problems dating back to 2008 in
regard to a land plot identification scheme,
a vital component for the distribution of
the payments, local media reports. The
audit is also said to have highlighted that
Slovenia had not been checking whether
the farmers registered their land in 2006 and
2007. Benedikt Jeranko, Slovenia’s director
general of the agency for agricultural markets
and rural development, added that his agency
and the environment ministry had started
fixing the faults immediately after receiving
the audit report. The EC will take the €8.3m
from the country’s next EU subsidy, he said.
EU wheat export licences
EU soft-wheat export licenses totalled
10.47 million tonnes in the period from
July 1, 2011 to March 27, 2012, the bloc
said in a report. Durum wheat export
licences totalled 1.06mt. Barley licences
were pegged at 2.56mt, with maize
licences at 2.34mt. Import commitments
for the period totalled 4.87mt for soft
wheat, 1.12mt for durum wheat, 408 000t
for barley and 3.90mt for maize.
Sea salt awarded PGI status
A hand-harvested French sea salt has been
awarded ‘protected geographic indication’
(PGI) status by the European Commission.
The ‘Sel de Guérande/Fleur de sel de
Guérande’, collected from 46 communes
in the Loire and Brittany regions, takes
form on marshes with a high clay content.
Israeli-backed Kazakh chicken
An Israeli poultrymeat facilities company,
MAD, plans to build five large poultry
units in the north of Kazakhstan. The new
project, valued at 16 billion tenge (€81.2
million) over four years, will set up broiler
breeders units and a feed plant with the aim
of reducing imports – many of which come
from Russia, where MAD also operates.
Correction
In last week’s print issue of Agra Europe,
we incorrectly referred to Western corn
rootworm as a disease rather than a pest
in the article entitled ‘Maize pest spread
sparks row over containment’ (see AE2507
27.03.12, page 6). We apologise for any
confusion this may have caused.
Find more key data on-line
at www.agra-net.com
CAP timeline
warning issued
EU member states and the
European Parliament must now
get on with the “complex” task of
deciding on the shape of the CAP
in time for 2014, two key figures
in the process warned last week.
“We need to go as fast as we can,” warned
Parliament agriculture committee chair
Paolo De Castro, faced with the “new
and challenging” co-decision procedure in
which MEPs have equal say on farm policy
for the first time.
The institutions should stop defending
“stubborn positions” and focus on
getting the job done to allow time for
implementation, added Irish farm minister
Simon Coveney, whose country will take up
the EU Presidency in the first half of 2013.
“The Parliament and Council must work
on a twin-track so they are not too far apart
when the time comes to make decisions,”
he urged, adding that this reform is a “more
complex animal” than previous ones.
The Commission proposals, though
“not particularly radical”, are a good basis
to establish positions, added Coveney, who
will chair the Farm Council meetings in
what should be the final straight for the talks.
The
Parliament’s
rapporteurs,
meanwhile, will present their “vision” for
the policy in June, said De Castro, stressing
the need to balance competitiveness and
sustainability and protect farmer incomes.
They were discussing the outlook for
the CAP between 2014 and 2020 together
with Commissioner Dacian Ciolos at this
year’s Forum for the Future of Agriculture
in Brussels.
Farmers need a “clear line” in the coming
years with a reform that shows the way,
said Ciolos, claiming the Commission’s
long-term budget proposal is “both realistic
and consistent for the CAP”.
Member states and the Parliament “must
at least confirm our approach so that the
reform can be applicable,” he urged.
“We must not sell ideological illusions.
On the contrary, we must offer instruments
on which we are capable of finding a
consensus among 27 member states,”
added the Commissioner.
Yet MEPs fired a warning to the Council
last week, vowing not to be pressured into
adopting their position on the reform before
the budget for 2014-2020 is agreed on –
unlikely before winter this year.
A number of governments are
understood to be pushing for greater cuts
to CAP spending that those proposed by
the EU executive last June, with some
ministers worried that the negotiations may
not be completed in time for 2014.
4
www.agraeurope.com
Health Commissioner calls
for ‘responsible’ biotech
Biotechnology can play a key role in making Europe’s economy more
sustainable, but industry must “demonstrate its benefits” and gain public
trust, the EU’s health and consumer policy chief said last week.
The highest environment and health standards
have to be ensured but the bloc’s regulatory
framework must not “overburden” the biotech
industry and scientific innovation, stressed
John Dalli.
Advanced biofuels have great potential for
the agriculture sector, he added, at an event
held in the European Parliament on Tuesday
(March 27), organised by biotech industry
association EuropaBio.
“I sincerely hope the long-awaited secondgeneration biofuels [those derived from
biomass] can meet the high expectations that
the industry has created,” challenged Dalli, who
is “concerned” about innovation in Europe.
“The Commission has a strong interest in
what the biotech industry has to offer – but
it must be responsible and sustainable, be
underpinned by safety and transparency and
have the public’s trust,” he underlined.
EuropaBio chairman Stephan Tanda,
stressing it is already the most carefully
regulated technology, said “responsible use”
of biotech can contribute greatly to the ‘Europe
2020’ strategy’s aim of achieving smart and
sustainable growth by the end of the decade.
“No other technology is more responsive
to human needs of food, fuel and fibre,”
he argued, calling for a “more constructive
dialogue” on the concrete services and benefits
it has to offer.
GMO outlook
Despite the continued stalemate among
member states over the EU’s genetically
modified organism (GMO) cultivation rules
– governments having failed to agree on a
Danish Presidency proposal in March – Dalli
told Agra Europe he is “hopeful” of progress
this summer.
Although
nine
countries
remain
unconvinced, there have been “positive
movements” in the Council, he claimed.
Copenhagen is considering readdressing the
issue when environment ministers meet in June.
Yet if the move fails, the bloc will simply
carry on with the existing rules, whereby
approval of biotech crops is down to EU food
safety body EFSA, which the Commissioner
regards as sufficient.
French MEP Françoise Grossetête, who
hosted the event, argued that GMOs – or
‘green’ biotech – can be vital in helping the bloc
produce more but emit less, but that “prejudice”
in certain media must be tackled first.
“Biotech is often thought of in Europe as a
threat – it is time for change in mentality,” said
the European People’s Party (EPP) member,
stressing the “incredible opportunities” of
scientific innovation for the farming sector.
Europe should pursue “sustainable
intensification” by adopting more GMOs on
existing arable land, said BASF board member
Stefan Marcinowski, such as a drought-tolerant
maize and potato that resists the disease late
blight – both awaiting EU approval.
Yet ongoing public opposition has prompted
the chemical giant to abandon its commercial
GM efforts in Europe, he reminded, adding
that the technology has raised the incomes of
millions of small farmers worldwide.
João Monteiro Grilo, a Portuguese farmer
who wants farmers to get the opportunity to
profit from GM, lays the blame squarely with
politicians and laments his country’s restrictive
co-existence rules.
“Farmers do not want damaged crops every
year, above all they want quality,” he said,
claiming that between 2007 and 2010 around
30% of maize grown in the Mondego valley
area was damaged by plague.
Protectionism will not halt EU-Mercosur talks
The EU-Mercosur talks remain firmly on track, despite increased farm
trade protectionism seen recently in Argentina.
“Brazil remains committed to the Mercosur and agricultural producer in the emerging
process, with continued regional integra- Latin American trade bloc.
tion remaining a key platform of Brazilian
Clarke asked whether Argentina’s
foreign policy,” Roberto Jaguaribe, Brazil’s participation or absence at future talks in July
ambassador to the UK told the Financial would be a ‘make or break’ scenario for the
Times Sustainable Agriculture Summit in negotiations to either succeed or fail.
London.
The ambassador answered that Brazil’s
Answering a question from John Clarke, commitment to a regional trade agreement
director for international affairs at DG with the EU would continue, while conceding
Agri in Brussels, the ambassador said there that agriculture remains an important
was no scenario under which Brazil would component to its acceptability to all parties,
continue to pursue the negotiations without given the ‘off and on’ series of discussions
Argentina, the other major Mercosur member held on this sector since 2004.
April 3, 2012
‘Limited’ CAP reform only political
option, think tank concludes
The European Commission plans for the CAP post-2013 will not lead to any significant changes but are positive
and “politically realistic” given the current economic context, says Paris-based think tank Notre Europe.
The effects of the proposals to ‘green’ direct
payments, cap aid to the largest recipients
and improve risk management would be “relatively limited”, it claims in a policy paper
issued last week.
Subsidies will continue to provide big
farms simply and unfairly with “additional
earnings” and should instead be gradually
decreased and transferred to a ‘crisis reserve’
outside the EU budget, says the report.
Yet, while constituting no “major” reform,
the plans will bring progress “if political
representation does not water it down
excessively, either at the decision-making or
the implementation phase”, it argues.
The plan for a €3.5 billion crisis fund in
the farming sector is the “greatest innovation”
of the proposals, claims the association,
claiming it is effectively “the beginning of a
third pillar in the CAP”.
The continuation of direct aids on the
economic justification of food security is
“problematic”, says Notre Europe, citing an
“obvious” lack of legitimacy to subsidies
going to large-scale, modernised farms.
However, it welcomes the move from
historical references to area-based payments
by 2019, which will allow a “rebalancing” of
support between farms, farming orientations
and regions in the EU.
Yet determining precise payments for the
‘public goods’ supplied by farms across the
bloc remains “difficult to achieve” for both
technical and political reasons, stresses the
paper.
The capping plan will only have a “limited
impact” because of wage cuts and is “a long
way from a true ambition for fairness in the
use of public funds”.
“As long as basic payments are linked to
land... they will simply provide additional
earnings and lead to a race for property, as
soon as the size of the holding allows the
owner to reach a good level of income,” it
argues.
Greening ideas
The disputed plan to link 30% of Pillar One
payouts to three EU-wide environmental
measures is to be welcomed, says the paper,
though it criticises the “low requirements” as
many farmers already practice crop rotation
and have ecological focus areas (EFAs).
Although the greening measures are
necessarily based on simple and observable
indicators, the costs of applying and
administering these “environmental bonuses”
will be high, it warns.
The definition of an EFA should not apply
to farming units but rather to “spatial grids”,
suggests the report, whereby 7% would be
the average rate for the wider area, allowing
smaller-scale farmers to reach a lesser
percentage.
Incentives should also be established
to create “ecological corridors”, it adds,
also proposing additional bonuses for
farmers who convert farmland to permanent
grassland surfaces in sensitive areas.
As for the EU’s risk management
capacities, the proposals offer “real progress”
“As long as basic payments
are linked to land... they will
simply provide additional
earnings and lead to a race for
property”
in mitigating economic risks and rebalancing
competition between farmers and the sector
downstream, claims the paper.
The crisis reserve is an “excellent
initiative” but co-ordinating stabilisation
tools that exist in both CAP pillars and this
extra-budgetary fund will cause problems, it
believes.
Along with extending recognition of
producer organisations to all farming sectors,
all such groups should be able to negotiate
contracts and prices in future, adds the
report, warning many producers are isolated
in the face of “dominant purchasers”.
Making the crisis fund permanent would
“bring together all the financial means
to manage market disturbances... with
a progressive shift of some of the basic
payments towards a new third pillar”.
‘Partial’ progress
The Notre Europe paper was authored by
Louis-Pascal Mahé, emeritus professor at
the Agrocampus institute in Rennes, Western
France.
The reform plans only “partially
correct” the negative effects of the CAP
on the environment and the sector’s “total
dependence” on support due to the maintained
capitalisation of land-based payments, Mahé
finds.
European agriculture will have to adapt to
a “radically-changed context” in the coming
years and the next CAP will have to meet the
challenges and satisfy its critics at the same
time, he warns.
EC ready to discuss wine planting rights
The European Commission is “ready to re-discuss” the abolition of vine
planting rights agreed in 2007, farm chief Dacian Ciolos has pledged, as
pressure builds to reverse liberalisation scheduled for 2016.
Governments who have since changed their
position will get to voice their concerns at
the first meeting of a ‘High Level Group’ on
reform of the sector on April 19.
The meeting will provide “useful indications for understanding the impact on the
market of the possible abolition of planting rights,” stated Commissioner Ciolos
during this week’s Vinitaly wine trade fair
in Verona, Italy.
Fifteen member states have now voiced
opposition to the reform, arguing that freeing
up the rights will encourage overproduction
and blur quality requirements.
However, it is “not at all the case” that
the EU executive has already made up its
mind on the issue, a spokesperson stressed
this week.
“The question is not whether or not we
maintain the existing system, but, if we
do keep the concept, how we can be more
efficient than in the past,” said Ciolos,
pointing to other ways of supporting
April 3, 2012
exports, such as promotion.
The reform, agreed in December 2007, includes an EU Regulation liberalising planting
rights, aimed at making producers more competitive in the face of swelling wine imports to
the bloc from ‘new world’ producers.
Yet if two-thirds of member states turn
their backs on the proposals, a qualified
majority of votes would be sealed in the
Council – piling pressure on the Commission
to propose a change.
Just 40 votes – potentially covered if just
Belgium and Poland join the ranks – are
now needed to secure the consensus.
Reversing the reform is said to hold
support among a majority of MEPs,
as well as EU umbrella farmers’ union
Copa-Cogeca.
The farm lobby “is very worried about
what would happen in the EU wine sector if
planting rights were to be abolished,” said
wine working party chairman Thierry Coste
last week.
www.agraeurope.com
5
EU edges closer to
Ukraine FTA
EU and Ukrainian officials have
initialled a free trade agreement
(FTA) that would see both sides
liberalise most farm tariffs – but
political differences mean there is
still no guarantee the deal will go
through.
A bilateral Association Agreement,
which includes the creation of a Deep
and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
(DCFTA), was agreed on in December, but
EU leaders have made clear they will not
sign until after parliamentary elections in
the country in October.
The agricultural terms of the DCFTA
will see the EU liberalise 80% of its tariff
lines and 82% of its trade value, in exchange
for Ukraine offering similar access to 87%
of tariff lines and 88% of trade.
Cheese, olive oil and wine from the bloc
will all be able to enter the country without
paying duty, while both parties will benefit
from improved market access on all sensitive
tariff lines (see AE2484, 11.10.11, page 6).
The European Commission said that
the initialling on Friday (March 30) is
aimed at “keeping the momentum” in
relations with the former Soviet county –
with the jailing of former prime minister
Yulia Tymoshenko among a number of
political concerns.
EU governments have said Ukraine’s
judiciary requires “urgent attention”,
along with issues concerning the rule of
law, elections and constitutional reform.
The deal would have to be ratified by all
27 member states and Kiev to become
reality, with early 2013 looking possible.
Meanwhile, Trade Commissioner
Karel De Gucht at the weekend signed a
“scoping paper” with Vietnam – a prelude
to opening negotiations on an FTA that
could see the removal of agricultural
import tariffs and rules on foodstuffs.
Meeting in the margins of the 11th
‘ASEAN-EU Economic meeting’ in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia, De Gucht and Vietnamese
counterpart Vu Huy Hoan agreed on topics
to be included in future talks.
“The EU and Vietnam are complementary
economies,” stated De Gucht after the
meeting, eyeing “new opportunities for
importers, exporters and consumers”. The
bloc is already negotiating bilateral deals
with Singapore and Malaysia.
The EU had a €7.6 billion trade deficit
with the communist state last year, with
agricultural imports rising in value from
€1.88bn in 2009 to €2.67bn in 2011. Farm
trade in the other direction also increased
by 50% over the same period, reaching
€693 million last year.
6
www.agraeurope.com
Previous CAP reform benefitted
EU dairy sector says report
The 2003 reform of the CAP has helped to make the EU dairy industry more
market-oriented and reduced the overall cost of aid to the sector, but has
not made it more internationally competitive.
These are some of the key findings of a major
study, entitled Evaluation of CAP measures
applied to the dairy sector, compiled in
November and published by the European
Commission last week.
The package, implemented between
2004 and 2007, introduced decoupled direct
aid payments for dairy farmers, big cuts in
intervention prices for butter and skimmed
milk powder and small quota increases.
Commissioner Franz Fischler’s reforms
have been generally beneficial in making
the dairy sector more market-oriented, as the
intervention price cuts reduced the previously
high gap between EU and world markets,
found Dutch market analyst LEI.
Yet the researchers conceded that the
market price surge of 2007/8, which took
world market prices way above EU support
levels and rendered the latter irrelevant, made
it more difficult to assess the true impact
of the 2003 changes on income and price
support policy.
Total CAP budget support to the dairy
sector between 2008 and 2011 averaged
around €3.5 billion a year – including
decoupled payments to farmers who are
primarily dairy producers, they added.
The study says the reform helped eliminate
the structural surplus that previously existed
on the EU dairy market and made the industry
less bound by the quota system – yet does not
cover the more significant quota increases
agreed under the 2008 CAP ‘Health Check’.
The relative profitability of dairy farming
compared to other sectors was “maintained”,
states the report, though it concedes that
a reduction in the number of farms and
expansion in size of the remaining ones was
partly responsible for supporting profitability.
With price stability having deteriorated
over the last decade as world market
fluctuations led to higher volatility, the study
cites the value of EU market support systems
when prices slumped in 2009.
It notes, however, that “there was no
marked change in the competitiveness of milk
or dairy products” over the post-reform period.
In general terms, the Commission-funded
report found EU dairy policy to have been
positive for society as a whole – having
made the industry more transparent and
contributed to “more environmentallyfriendly” dairying.
Recommendations
The study advocates more flexible market
intervention mechanisms offering a more
rapid safety net for producers faced with
market shocks and the creation of public or
private risk management tools for farmers,
such as income insurance programmes, as
proposed in the current CAP reform.
It also recommends the introduction of
regulatory measures “for redressing power
imbalances in bargaining power” between
dairy industry actors – such as the recentlyagreed EU contract framework.
Once quotas expire in 2015, dairy
producers will be able to set up producer
organisations that negotiate deliveries
collectively on their behalf, under the new
rules (see AE2504, 06.03,12, page 4).
EU and Brazil carbon targets converging
EU and Brazilian agricultural standards are increasingly becoming more
compatible, particularly on the environment, according to John Clarke,
director for international affairs at DG Agri in Brussels.
“Brazil has even more ambitious targets than
Europe to reduce its carbon emissions by
40% by 2020 and is aiming to achieve this by
sustainability measures such as stricter land
zoning laws,” Clarke told the FT Sustainable
Agriculture Summit in London.
However, concerns remain over the
continued impacts of deforestation, indirect
land use change and ‘slash and burn’
practices, as well as soil erosion and siltation,
especially for soya, “due to intensive use of
agrochemicals in some parts of Brazil,” he
said.
There are also still issues around weakly
defined land ownership titles and ‘landgrabbing’ by larger companies, and poor
enforcement policies on ranching and other
farms remain an obstacle, Clarke maintained.
However, he agreed that European
and Brazilian policies on ‘greening’ were
increasingly converging, and that in terms
of agricultural technology, the applied crop
research insititute Embrapa was a prime
example to Europe on developing new
climate-friendly varieties.
In response to a question from Agra
Europe on trade barriers and tariffs imposed
by the EU on Brazilian ethanol and sugar
exports, he said that those would over time
either diminish or disappear altogether as part
of the wider Mercosur free trade agreement
negotiations with Latin America.
April 3, 2012
Brazilian agriculture sector can
grow sustainably, minister claims
Brazil’s rapidly growing agricultural sector can continue to develop in a sustainable way, while the country
should be able to handle the greater responsibility that comes with its expansion, industry leaders said at a
conference last week.
Opening the FT Sustainable Agriculture agribusiness and SMEs at Banco do Brasil, proved that productivity in certain areas can
Summit in London last week, Jorge Mendes said: “Brazil is both an agricultural and be multiplied by five times.”
Ribeiro, Brazil’s agriculture minister, told environmental powerhouse.”
With regard to the question of whether Increase in planted area
delegates: “Brazil is undergoing a very steep
transformation. By 2020, 60 million Brazil- there is enough space in Brazil for the country
ians will be over the age of 60, and the social to produce bioenergy and biofuels, Dias As a result of the country’s new initiatives
class will represent 60% of the population. noted: “Perhaps in other countries there isn’t. Brazilian planted area could increase to 32
million hectares, from 26m ha currently, acBrazil will be consuming more and more and But there is enough space in our country.”
Dias reminded delegates that by 2050 the cording to Dias.
will be consuming better.”
“This is going to be legitimately Brazilian.
Ribeiro said there has been good progress world will have to produce 60% more food to
in Brazil’s agricultural policy. He noted feed a growing population. “And Brazil has We are very concerned about preserving our
soil because it is our heritage. A Brazilian
that half of Brazil’s agricultural land is in 40% of this responsibility,” he remarked.
sustainable territory. “Agriculture will make
The country’s main aim in order to producer, whether he is a family man or
a substantial contribution to renewable increase output in a responsible way is to an industrial company knows that he has
energy,” he said, adding that Brazilian boost productivity.
to preserve more to produce more. And so
agriculture is “intrinsically linked” to a
“We’re not talking about chopping down we cannot follow particular models from
sustainable economy.
forests to produce this and supply the world. abroad. We can’t follow the example of those
“I’m always seeking balance. Whether it’s We’re not talking about advancing into the that had the opportunity to preserve and did
between supply/demand, profit/environment, Amazon region. What we’re talking about is not do it. We have to follow our models.
rich/poor, we can get there,” remarked the the lands that have been used up until now Our sovereignty has to be respected,” Dias
minister.
have not had the level of productivity that we concluded.
Celio Porto, secretary for international know they can have,” said Dias.
“We should also, though, follow good
relations at Brazil’s ministry of agriculture,
“We know that one head per hectare is examples from around the world. If countries
reminded the conference that increasing not acceptable. That’s why the Brazilian that are part of the EU can apply this code
production
of
Brazil’s
agricultural government is not sitting down with its arms in their region it would be very good for
commodities
without
harming
the folded. We are working on projects that have humanity.”
environment will be no easy task. “It’s
important to increase productivity and
competitiveness and that’s what Brazil
intends to pursue,” said Porto.
“An issue that has been debated very
The European Commission has committed a further €164.5 million to try
widely around the world is the purchase
and boost food security in the Sahel region of Africa, with the UN Food and
of land by foreigners. There has been a
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warning nearly 16m people are now at risk.
movement – especially since the economic
crisis in 2008 and increased volatility – by The funds will support existing national with the EU executive estimating that up to
some sovereign states to fund the purchase of food programmes managed by the gov- €700m will be needed to avert disaster in
land in other countries.”
ernments of Niger, Chad, Burkino Faso, the coming months.
He mentioned that some people are worried Mauritania, Senegal and Mali – though aid
Meanwhile, the EU’s Court of Auditors
that some Chinese companies are buying “too to the latter is temporarily suspended due to (ECA) has praised the Commission’s overall
much land” via Brazilian enterprises. “But a recent coup.
development aid strategy in sub-Saharan
why should this concern Brazil so much? It
With poor harvests and high world food Africa, where 30% of the population is
should not concern only Brazil,” he said.
prices having worsened shortages in the estimated to suffer from hunger.
region’s ‘hungry season’, from May to
The €3.1 billion spent there between
Concerns over Chinese investment
September, farmers are receiving vouchers 2002 and 2010 was “mostly effective”, it
for seeds and fertilisers and early warning announced on Wednesday (March 28), after
Even as Brazil, Argentina and other nations systems are being upgraded.
having monitored programmes in Ethiopia,
move to impose limits on farmland purchases
“By supporting rural development and Malawi and Rwanda.
by foreigners, many analysts have said that food production, we tackle the root causes of
However, while aid has properly
Chinese investors are seeking to control recurring food crises in the region and build addressed countries’ needs in terms of food
production more directly themselves, taking resilience of Sahel people and countries,” availability and access, the EU executive
their nation’s commitment to agricultural said European Development Commissioner “has not placed adequate emphasis on
self-sufficiency overseas.
Andris Piebalgs.
nutrition,” found the ECA.
While many welcome the investments,
The new development funds come
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right
they are coming as Brazilian officials begin alongside €123.5m already committed in to Food Olivier De Schutter earlier this
questioning the “strategic partnership” with humanitarian aid – bringing the EU budget month accused governments of often being
China encouraged by former president Luiz contribution to nearly €500m.
“indifferent to what kind of calories are
Inacio Lula da Silva. Many believe the
The Danish Presidency last month on offer, at what price, to whom they are
Chinese have become so important to Brazil’s called on the member states to increase accessible and how they are marketed”
economy that it cannot do without them.
their assistance to the crisis-hit countries, domestically.
Osmar Fernandes Dias, vice president of
EU commits more aid for Sahel food crisis
April 3, 2012
www.agraeurope.com
7
WEEKLY TRADE FOCUS
Arable
Surprise USDA report trips up grain
bears and feeds the soya bulls
A slew of far more bullish than expected data in last Friday’s keenly anticipated USDA reports snapped Chicago
grain futures out of a four-day, fund-sold, collapse to ten-week lows and sent soybeans spiralling to new sixmonth highs – but how long a shelf-life can new US planting estimates expect?
The biggest upset in the USDA’s forecasts
was a surprisingly low estimate for US
soybean planted area – just 73.9 million acres
(2.99 million hectares) compared with trade
guesses averaging 75.5m acres (30.55m ha).
Some analysts recently predicted up to 77m
(31.16m ha) were needed just to start making
up for shrinking South American crops.
With trend yields USDA’s area number
points to a crop just over 87 million tonnes
against last year’s 83.2mt and the previous
two year’s average 91mt. Assuming
unchanged demand, that suggests falling
stocks. Matched against some of the higher
forecasts for exports to China, it could mean
US soybeans running out altogether next
season though in reality prices would rise to
ration demand and buy more acres.
A close second in USDA’s surprise stakes
came spring wheat plantings of just under
12m acres (about 4.86m ha) versus trade
guesses averaging 13.4m acres (5.42m ha)
and last year’s 12.4m (5m ha) as farmers in
northern states turned to other more profitable
crops. This could point to tighter supplies and
firmer premiums for high quality milling
wheat on world markets. However, that could
be offset by more high grade wheats from the
next Canadian and Australian crops (i.e. less
weather-downgraded feed wheat than during
the past two seasons).
Not far behind was the USDA’s big bearish
surprise – maize plantings at 95.86m acres
(38.8m ha) against trade guesses averaging
94.7m (38.3m ha) and last year’s 91.9m (37.2m
ha). However, even this manna for consumers
was heavily offset by the USDA’s estimate of
March 1 US stocks at just six billion bushels
(152mt), about 150m bu (3.8mt) below the
average trade estimate and 523m bu (about
212mt) lower than a year earlier. The stock
decline reflects what many analysts have been
insisting for months, that the USDA had been
seriously under-rating US feed demand – but
it still wipes out much of the potential extra
bushels promised by higher plantings.
Instant trade reaction in the brief window
between the report’s release and the week’s
close revealed considerable caution toward the
USDA’s planting figures which were surveyed
before soybean prices recently embarked on
a steep increase, raising their value versus
maize from about 2.1:1 to a 2.5:1 by the end
of last week. Some analysts are convinced
this has bought an extra 1m or 2m bean acres,
though to what extent these might come from
maize is debated as total crop area should be
considerably larger in 2012 than that sown
during last spring’s rain interruptions.
8
www.agraeurope.com
Even a 76/77m acre bean crop would need
lucky weather to boost yields for an adequate
supply (90/91mt) especially in the light of
further big reductions in South American
crops from origin analysts this past week
(ranging from 2.3mt to 4.7mt).
Despite the steep price increases on Friday
– wheat almost 8%, maize 6.6%, net gains on
a mainly bearish week were marginal (though
renewed buying could push prices higher still
after the weekend).
Up to Friday, the funds had been ditching
grains wholesale amid renewed angst over
Chinese economic growth, Eurozone debt
bailout packages, spot-start signals from US
business data and, maybe above all, a desire
to pocket some of their gains from earlier
price rises at the end of a month and a quarter.
The biggest upset in the
USDA’s forecasts was a
surprisingly low estimate for
US soybean planted area
Sales were particularly heavy for maize
– 56 000 lots from Monday to Thursday,
equal to over 7mt, testimony to the general
expectation of weak data coming from the
USDA. Even soybeans suffered from the
selling spree as traders feared the market had
become overbought during its recent run-up
in prices, trying to buy extra spring acres.
Funds had also seemed content to leave
themselves highly exposed on the short
(sold) side in Chicago wheat futures, backed
by this grain’s much looser fundamentals.
Without support from maize through their
feed connection, wheat prices would probably
be sliding under pressure from huge world
stocks and growing export competition
between the traditional ‘Big Five’ exporters
(US, EU, Canada, Australia and Argentina),
CIS countries and India (in the past week
both Russia and India also underlined their
ambitions to become reliable, expanding
suppliers).
Also, after the recent brisk trade to North
African and Middle Eastern nations, the
wheat import tender line-up looked much
slimmer – although Egypt did take advantage
of the drop in wheat prices to buy 60 000t
each from the US and Argentina.
French exporters were shut out of this
deal after their recent price increases amid
declining EU crop estimates and EU total
seasonal export licences are still running
32% down on the year after another week
of low allocations. US weekly exports were
also disappointing although the seasonal total
remains just ahead of the pace needed to meet
the USDA’s 2011/12 forecast.
Wheat was also held back by further
improvements in the state of the US winter
wheat crop and reports that dry European
regions might get some relief into first half
April (see Weather Watch, page 12). However,
many EU total production estimates appear to
be running about 2mt or more below rather
than above last year’s now.
Maize markets also had late support
from China buying another 120 000t from
the US, bringing its seasonal purchases to
4.2mt against the last USDA forecast of
4mt. Several hundred thousand tonnes more
Chinese purchases were also rumoured to
be under negotiation while private analysts
are again upping their total Chinese import
forecasts toward 6mt, even 8mt.
This Chinese demand may help the US
prove its seasonal export forecast which again
looked on shaky ground after last week’s
export sales plummeted to a marketing year
low of less than 160 000t (it needs a weekly
average now of 432 000t until August 31).
US weekly maize ethanol production figures
also continued to slow accompanied by nearrecord stocks of the green fuel. Still, with the
new higher level of feed demand (probably
going forward into 2012/13 season too) this
will not diminish the need for the US to aim
for a record crop rather than risk stock drawdowns to hazardous levels.
China has also been an active buyer in
the US soyabean market this past week and
origin estimates of how much it will take in
this year now range to 2mt over USDA’S
55mt forecast.
Rising soya prices are meanwhile spilling
strength into other sectors of the oilseed
complex, especially palm oil which hit oneyear highs as exporters saw windfall business
accruing from the implied shortfalls in Latin
American soya oil supply. World soya oil
exports are already forecast by the USDA to
drop 1.1mt this season and South American
production potential could have dropped
another 500 000t to 1mt last week alone.
While sunflower and canola oils can
contribute to this season’s expected 3mt rise
in world vegetable oil trade, palm may have
to supply almost three quarters. Rapeseed also
hit 13-month-highs in sympathy with strong
Chicago futures and ideas that the soya shortfall,
along with less than stellar EU, Chinese and
Indian oilseed crops will easily mop up a
planned record Canadian canola crop.
April 3, 2012
Arable
Official predicts only minor
increase in cane production
The president of Brazil’s sugar industry group, UNICA, has admitted that
unfavourable growing conditions and ageing plants in the country’s main
producing region are likely to contribute to only a minor upturn in cane
production in the 2012/13 season, backing earlier analyst forecasts.
Marcos Jank told reporters at the FT
Sustainable Agriculture Summit in London,
that the cane crop in the Centre-South region
in the country is expected to be similar to the
current season. Output in the area fell for the
first time in a decade in 2011/12 due to bad
weather and overdue renewal of ageing, lessproductive plants, after a decade of aggressive
expansion.
“This year won’t be much different,”
Jank said. “This harvest has the same
characteristics of the last as we are still
paying for weather-related problems and the
industry consolidation process that resulted
in companies not expanding greenfields.”
Production in the 2012/13 season could
still climb “a little bit,” he added, but the
potential gain would be far from enough to
meet the potential increase in demand.
Stefan Uhlenbrock, senior analyst at FO
Licht, told his company’s annual sugar and
ethanol event in Sao Paulo earlier this week
that crushing in the Centre-South region, which
begins officially in April, will put out 32.3 million
tonnes of sugar, 1mt more than for 2011/12,
He said mills and independent cane
producers have begun the costly exercise of
replanting, or ‘ratooning’, their cane fields to
return them to optimal yields but this takes
some fields out of production for a year.
Although the dry weather of early to mid2011 has given way to better rainfall, moisture
has been less than normal in February and
March over the centre-south cane crop, which
accounts for 90% of Brazil’s sugar output.
Total cane production should be in the
range of 475m to 515mt, Uhlenbrock said,
adding that the crop was likely to be closer
to the top of this range. Around 494mt were
harvested in the 2011/12 season now ending.
Uhlenbrock said the production boost from
the renewal of cane plants in Brazil would
kick in fully only in next year’s 2013/14
season as most plants had still to mature.
“The new crop will still be a transitional year
and only in 2013/14 will we see a chance for
a more pronounced recovery,” he said.
Brazil will need 100 new mills by 2020 to
keep its 50% market share of the world sugar
market, Jank added at the London event. That
would equate to an investment of US$90
billion in the sugar and ethanol sector. “The
challenge is not to recover the fields affected
by the drought, as it makes financial sense to
do that quickly,” he said. “The difficulty is to
expand existing mills and build new ones.”
Global production
World sugar output would reach a record
175mt in the October to September year, a
10mt annual increase as secondary sugar
producers such as Thailand, India, Russia and
Australia respond to high prices, according to
Uhlenbrock. “This will yield a 7.7mt global
sugar surplus, which has yet to have a major
impact on prices,” the analyst said.
However, it will have an impact later
this year as physical supplies from those
producers reach the market. The figure marks
a nearly four-fold jump from the 1.8mt
surplus of 2010/11, he said.
“Only in 2013/14 will we
see a chance for a more
pronounced recovery”
Global oilseed stocks forecast to decline
World oilseed inventories could drop to a three-year low in 2012 due to dry
weather in South America reducing output of soyabeans, according to an
industry analyst.
Oil World has forecast the total stockpile of
the leading ten oilseeds on a global scale will
fall to 72.4 million tonnes, compared with
88.7mt in 2011. Production will decline by
2.9% to 439.6mt due to an increase in the use
of oilseeds for cooking, fuel and animal feed
rises by 3.1%.
“Despite some demand rationing, there
will still be a substantial decline in world
oilseed stocks this season,” Oil World said
in a report. “The sharp decline of world
stocks at the end of this season is raising the
dependence on increased oilseed plantings
and favourable weather in the Northern
Hemisphere, as well as on rebounding oilseed
production not only in the US, but also in
other countries in the summer and autumn.”
Dry weather in Brazil, which is expected
to be the biggest global soyabean exporter
this year, has cut production of the oilseed,
Oil World said. Growers in the US may shun
soybeans this year and instead sow maize as
favourable weather promotes seeding of the
grain, it added.
April 3, 2012
Farmers to oppose
ban on GM maize
Maize growers in France have
gone to the country’s highest
court to appeal a ban on growing
genetically
modified
maize,
claiming it is without justification
and threatens to be economically
detrimental to farmers.
The French government has banned Monsanto’s MON810 genetically modified
(GM) maize on safety grounds despite the
Conseil d’État overturning the moratorium
late last year (see AE2492, 06.12.11, page
14). Monsanto subsequently said it would
not be selling the seed in France as “favourable conditions” for its sale were not
in place (see AE2499, 31.01.12, page 2).
“This restriction does not rely on any
serious scientific element, and maize
producers, hit by [insects], sustain real
financial damage,” French growers group
AGPM, French seed firms group UFS
and the maize and sorghum producers
federation FNPSMS said in a joint
statement on Thursday, March 29.
In February, France called on the
European Commission to suspend the
authorisation of MON810 for food
and feed uses in the EU, citing ‘new’
environmental concerns. The claim was
based on a December 2011 study for
another GM organism by the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which
assesses biotech products on human and
environmental safety grounds for the EU.
“Resistance evolution [to pesticides
used on the GM crop] may lead to altered
pest control practices that may cause
adverse environmental effects,” said the
study, while noting that “the environmental
exposure of non-target Lepidoptera to
maize Bt11 pollen is expected to be similar
to that of maize MON810 pollen”.
However, a French scientific opinion on
MON810 had approved MON810 prior to
a green light by EFSA, finding that it did
not present a greater risk to human health
or the environment than conventional
maize varieties.
France, Germany and Belgium remain
opposed “on principle” to a Danish
Presidency proposal to give countries two
‘opt-out’ choices in regard to GM crops,
while Sweden and Romania are also
against, sources revealed after the talks on
the matter in late February (see AE2503
28.02.12, page 5).
French
and
European
farmers
have expressed concerns about the
consequences of EU consumers’ hostility
to GM crops, saying it is likely to make
them fall behind in the competitive world
grain market.
www.agraeurope.com
9
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
CBOT
CBOT
CBOT
CBOTSOYABEAN
SOYABEAN
SOYABEAN
SOYABEAN
10
1455
1455
1455
1455
1380
1380
1380
1380
1305
1305
1305
1305
1230
1230
1230
1230
1155
1155
1155
1155
1080
1080
1080
1080
1005
1005
1005
1005
930
930
930
930
www.agraeurope.com
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
167.00
Mar 06
167.00
Mar 20
172.00
Feb 22
470
470
164.75
470
470
Mar 07
165.65
Mar 21
172.00
166.00
Mar 08
166.00
Mar 22
175.00
164.25
420
Mar 09
166.00
Mar 23
173.90
164.00
370
370
Mar 12
166.25
Mar 26
178.15
Feb 28
165.00
Mar 13
166.50
Mar 27
175.05
Feb 29
320
320
320
165.50
320
Mar 14
168.50
Mar 28
173.65
Feb 24
900
900
638.25
900
Mar 05
659.00
Mar 19
673.00
Feb 21
825
825
643.25
825
Mar 06
665.50
Mar 20
663.25
Feb 22
750
630.00
750
750
Mar 07
657.75
Mar 21
647.25
638.25
675
675
Mar 08
643.00
Mar 22
643.50
638.50
600
Mar 09
644.75
Mar 23
645.50
Feb 27
Feb 20
Feb 21
Feb 22
Feb 23
Feb 24
Feb 27
Feb 28
825
750
675
675
638.50
Mar 12
653.00
Mar 26
646.25
Feb 28
525
642.50
Mar 13
670.25
Mar 27
638.00
Feb 29
450
450
450
653.00
450
Mar 14
660.75
Mar 28
630.50
Mar 01
655.75
Mar 02
653.00
600
600
600
525
525
525
Feb 29
33
33
33
33
1271.00
30
30
30
30
1267.75
27
27
27
27
1271.00
24
24
24
24
1276.50
21
21
21
21
1278.00
18
18
18
18
1291.50
15
15
15
15
1304.25
Mar 01
1307.75
Mar 02
1316.00
36
1241.50
36
36
36
Mar 16
Mar 15
Mar 16
Mar 05
Mar 14
Mar 15
Mar 16
172.00
172.50
658.75
668.00
1349.00
1352.25
1368.50
Mar 29
Mar 30
Mar 29
Mar 30
Mar 28
Mar 29
Mar 30
172.00
175.60
Mar 07
656.00
Mar 21
643.25
644.25
Mar 08
638.50
Mar 22
636.75
520
520
520
642.00
520
Mar 09
635.50
Mar 23
647.75
644.00
470
Mar 12
635.25
Mar 26
655.50
643.50
Mar 13
658.00
Mar 27
659.50
420
662.00
420
420
420
Mar 14
649.50
Mar 28
639.50
613.00
620.25
605.00
1325.00
Mar 19
Mar 06
1317.00
Mar 20
1367.00
Mar 07
1329.50
Mar 21
1345.00
Mar 08
1321.25
Mar 22
1355.00
Mar 09
1335.75
Mar 23
1350.25
Mar 12
1332.00
Mar 26
1365.75
Mar 13
1329.50
Mar 27
1379.75
1370.75
1369.00
Source: The Public Ledger
Note: All prices taken fron the nearby position
1355.50
April 3, 2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
633.25
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
Feb 22
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
652.50
CBOT soybean futures (US¢/60lb bushel) opening
1374.25
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
Feb 21
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
Mar 20
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
171.50
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
666.25
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
Mar 19
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
Mar 06
570
570
633.00
570
570
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
Feb 23
Feb 20
900
Mar 15
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
165.30
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
164.75
Mar 02
Mar 30
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
166.50
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
648.00
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
Feb 21
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
671.50
Mar 29
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
CBOT soybean futures price
Mar 01
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
CBOT maize opening price
Mar 05
370
370
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
Feb 27
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
120
120
120
120
166.50
520
420
420
420
663.00
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
Feb 24
Feb 20
520
520
520
Mar 16
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
140
140
140
140
Mar 19
645.00
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
Feb 23
656.25
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
160
160
160
160
Mar 02
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
180
180
180
180
670.75
Mar 15
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
200
200
200
200
Mar 05
662.00
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
220
220
220
220
Feb 29
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
Liffe B grade wheat futures
Mar 01
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
Feb 28
648.00
620
620
470
470
470
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
Feb 27
525
525
525
525
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
Feb 24
600
600
600
600
Feb 20
620
620
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
675
675
675
675
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
Feb 23
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
750
750
750
750
€/tonne
€/tonne
€/tonne
€/tonne
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
825
825
825
825
$/tonne
$/tonne
$/tonne
$/tonne
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
900
900
900
900
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
CBOT
CBOT
CBOT
CBOTWHEAT
WHEAT
WHEAT
WHEAT
CBOT wheat futures
¢/lb
¢/lb
¢/lb
¢/lb
850
850
850
850
800
800
800
800
750
750
750
750
700
700
700
700
650
650
650
650
600
600
600
600
550
550
550
550
500
500
500
500
450
450
450
450
400
400
400
400
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
100
100
100
100
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
£/tonne
£/tonne
£/tonne
£/tonne
LIFFE
LIFFE
LIFFE
LIFFEBGRADE
BGRADE
BGRADE
BGRADEWHEAT
WHEAT
WHEAT
WHEAT
450
450
450
450
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
US¢/bushel
CBOT
CBOT
CBOT
CBOTMAIZE
MAIZE
MAIZE
MAIZE
Arable
COMMODITY PRICES: Week 13 ending 30.03.2012
CBOT wheat futures (US¢60lb bushel) opening
Liffe B grade wheat futures - Liffe (£/t)
CBOT maize (US¢/56lb bushel) opening
COMMODITY PRICES: Week 13 ending 30.03.2012
ICE Futures Canada canola futures
ICE Futures Canada canola futures (C$/t) opening
570
570
570
570
520
520
520
520
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
470
470
470
470
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
C$/tonne
620
620
620
620
420
420
420
420
Liffe rapeseed
420
420
420
420
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
370
370
370
370
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
€/tonne
€/tonne
€/tonne
€/tonne
470
470
470
470
$/tonne
$/tonne
$/tonne
$/tonne
Liffe white sugar futures
548.20
Mar 05
571.70
Mar 19
599.40
Feb 21
555.70
Mar 06
574.50
Mar 20
600.20
Feb 22
559.90
Mar 07
576.80
Mar 21
591.00
Feb 23
558.50
Mar 08
577.60
Mar 22
590.00
Feb 24
562.80
Mar 09
578.00
Mar 23
588.60
Feb 27
569.50
Mar 12
586.00
Mar 26
598.50
Feb 28
574.40
Mar 13
600.00
Mar 27
607.70
Feb 29
581.50
Mar 14
587.40
Mar 28
606.90
Mar 01
575.80
Mar 15
588.00
Mar 29
609.10
Mar 02
579.20
Mar 16
597.50
Mar 30
602.50
Feb 20
457.50
Mar 05
467.00
Mar 19
478.75
Feb 21
457.25
Mar 06
467.00
Mar 20
473.25
Feb 22
457.25
Mar 07
467.25
Mar 21
473.25
Feb 23
458.25
Mar 08
467.25
Mar 22
472.50
Feb 24
452.50
Mar 09
468.25
Mar 23
447.75
Feb 27
454.25
Mar 12
469.00
Mar 26
486.75
Feb 28
456.50
Mar 13
473.00
Mar 27
481.50
Feb 29
462.75
Mar 14
477.25
Mar 28
483.25
Mar 01
464.50
Mar 15
481.75
Mar 29
482.25
Mar 02
465.50
Mar 16
482.25
Mar 30
490.75
Liffe white sugar futures ($/t)
900
900
900
900
Feb 20
634.60
Mar 05
647.50
Mar 19
668.00
825
825
825
825
Feb 21
643.20
Mar 06
631.40
Mar 20
665.70
750
750
750
750
Feb 22
649.30
Mar 07
630.40
Mar 21
655.40
Feb 23
652.20
Mar 08
633.60
Mar 22
663.00
Feb 24
661.40
Mar 09
625.50
Mar 23
636.70
Feb 27
671.10
Mar 12
631.70
Mar 26
648.80
Feb 28
662.50
Mar 13
641.30
Mar 27
637.70
Feb 29
652.40
Mar 14
648.90
Mar 28
632.30
Mar 01
646.00
Mar 15
670.00
Mar 29
634.10
Mar 02
653.10
Mar 16
666.60
Mar 30
643.60
675
675
675
675
600
600
600
600
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
450
450
450
450
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
525
525
525
525
ICE Futures US raw sugar futures
ICE Futures US raw sugar futures (¢/lb) 1st column opening
36
36
36
36
33
33
33
33
30
30
30
30
27
27
27
27
24
24
24
24
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/03/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/02/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/01/2012
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/12/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/11/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/10/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/09/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/08/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/07/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/06/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
01/05/2011
21
21
21
21
18
18
18
18
15
15
15
15
Feb 20
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
01/04/2011
¢/lb
¢/lb
¢/lb
¢/lb
Feb 20
Liffe rapeseed (€/tonne)
520
520
520
520
320
320
320
320
Arable
24.55
Mar 05
24.95
Mar 19
25.41
Feb 21
24.70
Mar 06
24.62
Mar 20
25.68
Feb 22
25.43
Mar 07
24.25
Mar 21
25.56
Feb 23
25.89
Mar 08
23.92
Mar 22
25.33
Feb 24
25.90
Mar 09
24.03
Mar 23
24.70
Feb 27
26.23
Mar 12
23.66
Mar 26
25.41
Feb 28
26.50
Mar 13
23.85
Mar 27
24.77
Feb 29
25.17
Mar 14
24.10
Mar 28
24.40
Mar 01
25.00
Mar 15
24.44
Mar 29
24.35
Mar 02
24.85
Mar 16
25.45
Mar 30
24.90
Source: The Public Ledger
Note: All prices taken fron the nearby position
April 3, 2012
www.agraeurope.com
11
Weather Watch
Warm weather prevails across Europe
but some showers and snow expected
Dry and warm conditions prevailed across Europe last week which allowed moisture shortages and crop stress to
increase further, however cold weather and snow can still be found in the CIS countries.
Showers should return to central and western
Spain, northern Germany, Poland, former
Yugoslavia, and northern Romania this
week, which should help to improve moisture
a bit there. However, drier weather elsewhere will allow moisture shortages and crop
stress to build further, especially in France
and the UK. The return of dryness to northern and eastern Spain will also stress maize
germination.
Wheat and barley remains in dormancy
across the Central Region and Volga
Valley in the CIS due to the persistant cold
temperatures and snow. But both crops have
broken dormancy across western Ukraine.
Dryness is building across south central
Ukraine, and an upturn in showers would
be helpful there to prevent stress on wheat
as spring growth increases. Snow and cold
temperatures will continue across northern and
eastern areas this week, but showers should
help build moisture in western, northern, and
eastern Ukraine. The showers will remain a bit
light in south central Ukraine.
Moisture remains very short across
Morocco and western Algeria and wheat
there is pushing into heading with yield
losses continuing to occur. However, a
notable upturn in showers is expected across
the drier areas this week, which should help
to improve moisture supplies and ease stress
a bit. More follow-up rains will be needed,
though, especially in western Morocco.
Rains did return to the Midwest,
Delta, and southeast of the US last week,
which improved moisture, and additional
improvements are expected in these areas
this week. Warm temperatures continue to
spur wheat planting and germination across
the southern Midwest and Delta, and readings
should remain quite warm this week. Some
additional showers would be helpful across
the far northwestern Midwest, though, to
further improve moisture there.
Rains pushed across central areas of
Brazil last week, but were generally too light
to end dryness and stress on safrinha maize,
especially across eastern Mato Grosso do
Total Precipitation (mm) March 22-March 28 2012
Sul and Sao Paulo. Only minor delays were
reported to drydown and early harvesting of
the soyabean crop as well.
Meanwhile, additional widespread rains
across northern areas slowed first crop
maize and soyabean harvesting. Showers in
northeastern areas this week will slow first
crop maize harvesting, but more limited rains
in northwestern areas will allow harvesting
of maize and soybeans there to progress well.
Stress will build further on safrinha maize in
central areas as drier conditions prevail there.
A few showers were noted across central
and southeastern areas of Argentina last
week, meaning moisture for second crop
soyabeans was maintained and only minor
delays were noted to maize harvesting and
drydown of first crop soyabeans. A few
showers should return to northern areas
this week, but again, only minor delays to
harvesting and drydown are expected.
Showers further improved moisture across
southeastern North China Plain in China
Why choose EarthSat?
last week, and also improved moisture a
bit in southwestern North China Plain and
western Yangtze Valley. However, more
rains are still needed in western Yangtze
Valley and southwestern North China Plain
to sufficiently replenish moisture there. Rains
this week should favour central and southern
Yangtze Valley.
Drier weather for Australia
Showers have returned to east central New
South Wales in Australia, but only minor
harvest delays to the sorghum crop are being
noted. Drier weather this week across the
region will allow harvesting to progress well.
Some dryness continues in southwestern
Sumatra in Indonesia, which will likely
persist as rains remain limited there. However,
rains in east central and northern areas should
prevent the dryness from expanding further.
Moisture should remain adequate elsewhere
in the oil palm belt.
www.agraeurope.com
CONTACT US:
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Chris Hyde
energy forecasting
CropCast Marketing Director
• Our forecasts and products set the industry baseline and [email protected]
allow our customers to stay ahead of the competition
Phone: 240-833-8322
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Don Keeney
products to the market
Senior Ag Meteorologist
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customer service, with experienced meteorologists available 24/7
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24/7
12
www.agraeurope.com
April 3, 2012
Poultrymeat
Poultrymeat sector caught between
consumer demands and world trade
The EU poultrymeat industry has to be answerable and sensitive to “society”, or it will lose its “licence to produce”,
according to the secretary general of the European producers and processors’ association.
It is now globally recognised, albeit with
grudging scepticism from some quarters,
as setting the pace for world standards for
poultry health and welfare.
The challenge for the sector was to
maintain this position, meet the demands
of the consumer and yet produce and trade
competitively, Cees Vermeeren told members
of the International Poultry Council in Paris
last week.
Some 12.5 million tonnes of poultrymeat
are produced by EU member states – around
12%-12.5% of global output. Consumption
is, at about 23kg per capita per annum,
around double the average at global level. EU
turnover is estimated at €25 billion. “We have
an internal market but it is wrong to think
it is a harmonised market. That is also the
challenge – creating an internal market but
respecting diversity,” the official said.
The major topics for debate are revolving
around “mega-houses”, intensive poultry
farming and bird welfare, antimicrobial
resistance, ESBLs (Extended Spectrum BetaLactamases – a name used for a group of
bacteria that are resistant to many commonlyused antibiotics) and food safety, currently
dominated by a drive to reduce levels of
Campylobacter.
These are political issues, Vermeeren said,
and need to be communicated to consumers.
But welfare legislation at transport, farm
and slaughterhouse level was being enforced
very differently in individual member states.
“That is going to have to be a very important
part of future EU strategy,” Vermeeren said.
“It is partly a matter of creating a level
playing field across the EU.
“Although it is not so easy to impose
EU standards on imports, especially with
regards welfare, the EU is giving priority
to these issues in negotiations for bi-lateral
agreements, and with the WTO.”
Health issues
Animal health issues were resulting in clearer
legislative strategy, most recently manifest by the European Commission action
plan to address antimicrobial use in poultry
production.
“It is looking at the appropriate use of
antimicrobials, prevention of microbial
infections and their spread, development
of new antibiotics or alternatives for
treatment, and standardising surveillance and
monitoring,” Vermeeren pointed out.
“What is good is that it has chosen a
holistic approach, recognising it is related
to the human health situation, and there
is co-operation with the global [animal
and human health] organisations – the
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), World
Health Organisation (WHO) and Codex
Alimentarius.”
Meanwhile, zoonoses were also a major
focus at the IPC meeting, with both animal
and human health experts seeking ways to
work more closely together to combat the
reality that 75% of human diseases now relate
to animals.
Improved communication
In the space of six years since its inception,
the IPC has forged co-operative agreements
with the Paris-based OIE, the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Codex
Alimentarius and will soon be doing so with
WHO.
The Codex itself is a joint FAO-WHO
initiative set up to protect the health of
consumers while facilitating fair practices in
food trade. It also promotes the co-ordination
of all food standards work undertaken
by international governmental and nongovernmental organisations.
“IPC is strongly engaged in working
with these organisations for mutual benefit,”
outgoing deputy president Tage Lysgaard
said in a welcoming address to IPC members
currently representing 25 countries and 21
associations.
As a founder of IPC, his ambition now
is to encourage better communication by
the private sector, including individual
companies, of data that relates to food safety,
he told Agra Europe.
The role of the FAO is in feeding the world,
Lysgaard reminded delegates. “The poultry
industry can be a major player here,” he said,
adding that a sector united at an international
level in this way could also play a crucial role
in helping to decide future strategy.
“I am convinced that a united industry
within IPC can make a strong difference, and
IPC can help set a positive agenda together
with the global organisations, to the benefit of
the industry.”
Welfare study will highlight breeding methods
The welfare of meat chickens, both at breeder and commercial level,
is to be scrutinised by the European Commission amid fears that the
welfare of birds is being sacrificed in a drive for efficiency.
The Commission last week confirmed that
it will be looking at the influence of genetic
parameters on identified deficiencies resulting in poor welfare, according to AVEC,
the European producers and processors
association.
The European Food Safety Authority
has already recommended that the breeding
companies should come under greater
scrutiny. Critics say that leg and foot problems
are increasing, for example, as birds are bred
to be grown faster and to heavier weights.
Addressing the International Poultry
Council in Paris, Cees Vermeeren, secretary
general of AVEC, said that a study will
now take place of the impact of welfare in
breeding.
“There is a lot of mistrust,” he said,
referring to relationship between the various
links in the poultrymeat food chain. “We
need to take that away. Hopefully we will
succeed to some degree with this study.”
There will be a great deal for the industry
to consider and take into account once
the report has been published, Vermeeren
warned IPC members from countries
ranging from the Netherlands and Germany
to China, Brazil, Thailand and Mexico.
“[Last week] the Greens in Germany were
April 3, 2012
calling for limits to growth rate,” he told
them. “If this is taste of what is to come it
could have a big impact on the global market.
“From the EU alone we are exporting six
hundred million hatching eggs and 100m dayold-chicks. If the demand from third countries
is not matching what we are producing, this
trade will be threatened,” he said.
Supermarket breaks ranks
In other news, one of the top five UK
supermarket chains, Morrisons, has broken
ranks from its competitors and dropped
its genetically modified (GM)-free feed
requirement for poultrymeat and eggs.
UK supermarkets unilaterally banned all
GM in poultry feed in 2001, after a deal was
struck between a major supplier and a top
supermarket promising GM-free feed for its
chicken meat. GM ingredients continued to
be allowed in other livestock rations.
Industry has been lobbying hard for the
change, given the premiums that have to be
paid for non-GM soya, but retailers have
been concerned about consumer reaction.
Morrisons said it would strengthen its focus
on sustainability by requiring increased use
of certified sustainable soya.
www.agraeurope.com
13
Poultrymeat
Broiler output is
unclear in the US
It remains unclear whether
broiler production is trending
higher or lower than last year in
the US in absolute terms.
Analysts are generally more optimistic
about industry profitability for this year,
but some are wary that productivity
gains via egg production, hatchability,
livability, and weight gain could keep
working behind the scenes to put a limit
on production declines this year.
There were 197 million broiler eggs
placed in incubators in USDA’s 19-state
commercial hatchery program during the
week ending March 24. That was down
6% from the same week last year. Chick
placements totalled nearly 165m for the
week, down 5% from last year.
Cumulative placements from January 1
through to March 24 this year amounted
to 1.94 billion, down 4% from the same
period a year earlier.
However,
ready-to-cook
broiler
production totalled 2.95 billion pounds
(1.338 million tonnes) in February, which
was 3.6% higher than in February 2011,
although total 2012 Q1 output is expected
to be down 3.1% from last year.
According to USDA’s latest Chickens
and Eggs report, the broiler-type hatching
egg flock totalled 50.8 million hens on
March 1, up slightly from the previous
month but down 7.9% from the same
month last year. It was the smallest March
1 inventory since 1995, Informa Economics
points out in its latest weekly report.
“The breeding flock is much younger
and leaner now than it has been in recent
years, but the net result is that hens are
also more productive, on average, than
they have been in quite some time,” it said.
Given how much the breeding flock
has been pared back and that inventories
have not been as low since the mid-1990s,
previous estimates of the number of
broilers that will be available for slaughter
this year may have been a little high, the
firm concedes.
“However, weights now appear as
they will be a little heavier than expected,
offsetting the difference.”
Informa is now projecting a 3.2%
decline in the number of broilers
slaughtered this year to 8.26 billion.
Average liveweights at slaughter are now
projected to increase a modest 0.4% to
5.83lgs (2.65kg).
“Factoring in a slight improvement
in carcass yields as well, RTC broiler
production should be down roughly 2.5%
this year compared to last, at less than
36.3bn lbs (16.47mt),” it suggests.
14
www.agraeurope.com
Booming Brazilian sector eyes
growth in emerging markets
Brazil is now the world’s third largest poultry producer, with 13 million
tonnes of output in 2011, according to Francisco Turra, executive president
of Brazilian poultry association Ubabef.
Of this amount, some 9mt was consumed
domestically, while the remaining 4mt
was shipped to over 150 countries, he told
the FT Sustainable Agriculture Summit in
London.
Brazilian
poultry
exports
have
outpaced production over the past decade,
quadrupling in volume from 1mt in 2000 to
4mt in 2011, while in terms of value they
surged eight-fold from US$1 billion to
$8bn (€6bn), Turra said.
Saudi Arabia remains Brazil’s leading
export market, where it is also challenged
by the 27 member states of the European
Union, while the EU27 took 12% of total
overseas shipments last year, at 480 000
tonnes by volume and $1.5bn by value.
Turra commented, however, that the
EU was a net poultry exporter, despite its
average imports of 400 000t a year, due
to what he described as its combination of
subsidised advantages and complex trade
barriers and import quotas.
This ‘protectionist’ situation costs
European consumers dearly, at an estimated
€4bn a year, he claimed.
But African continent demand for
Brazilian chicken has also quadrupled over
the past decade, from just 4% of the world
total in 2000 to 16% last year, overtaking
the EU market in terms of importance.
Poultry is also a key employer in Brazil.
“The Brazilian poultry sector supports 1.6
million direct and indirect jobs in Brazil,”
Turra said.
Health standards key to growth
Disease-free production and high sanitary
standards are also important to global market
growth, Turra explained. “Brazil does not
suffer from H5N1 (avian flu) and has not
had any Newcastle Disease outbreaks for
the past five years, which means that it
can step into the market in developing and
other markets when those suppliers affected
cannot export,” he explained.
Turra also claimed that Brazilian chicken
production had higher carbon savings than
in the UK, citing DEFRA.
He added that there was ample scope
for increased Brazilian exports to leading
emerging markets such as China and India.
“Brazil currently consumes 47kg a
year per capita, compared with 34kg for
the EU. In China, the comparative figure
is just 9kg a head, which is three times
higher than the Indian figure of just 3kg,”
he commented. “There is therefore plenty
of room for increased exports to developing
markets around the world. Each extra kilo
in consumption would equal an extra 2.5mt
in output, also equivalent to annual Russian
production, which Brazil could fulfill.”
Chicken vaccine goal for Campylobacter
A vaccine could be developed to prevent Campylobacter being carried
in chickens, thereby slashing the number of cases of food poisoning and
saving huge sums of money, according to American scientists.
Scientists at Washington State University
are studying the maternal antibodies that
are passed from hens to their chicks. In
a presentation at the Society for General
Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Dublin,
Professor Michael Konkel, who is leading the
research, said these antibodies protect chicks
from becoming colonised by campylobacter
in the first week of life.
“Our group has now identified the bacterial
molecules that these antibodies attack, which
has given us a starting point for a vaccine
against Campylobacter,” he said. “We have
already found that chickens injected with these
specific molecules – found on the surface of
Campylobacter jejuni – produce antibodies
against the bacterium. This response partially
protects them from colonisation.”
Preventing contamination of poultry at
slaughter has not been effective at reducing
illness in humans, Prof Konkel suggested. “It
has been shown that about 65% of chickens
on retail sale in the UK are contaminated
with campylobacter. Ideally, the best way to
prevent contamination is to stop chickens
on the farm from becoming colonised with
this micro-organism in the first place, which
could be achieved by vaccination.”
The researchers hope to be testing such a
vaccine within the next six months.
Campylobacter is the leading cause of
food-borne illnesses, costing the UK alone an
estimated £2 billion (€2.4bn) a year, and is
responsible for about 30% of cases.
Of the main strains, Campylobacter jejuni
– found in the gut of many animals, including
chickens – was responsible for more than
371 000 estimated cases in England and
Wales in 2009, resulting in more than 17 500
hospitalisations and killing 88 people.
April 3, 2012
Meat & Livestock
EU cattle prices hit new heights
despite slowdown in exports
EU cattle and beef prices are once again hitting record highs, despite signs of slowdown in exports to Turkey,
Russia and other non-EU markets.
Prices for R3 steer carcasses rose to €3.94 per
kg in the week to March 24, up 21% when
compared to the same time last year.
Carcasses of O3 cows have seen similarly
impressive gains, rising 16% on year to
average €3.04/kg, while heifers and young
bulls are also at historically high levels.
With feed costs remaining relatively stable
since the beginning of the year, producers are
seeing a good improvement in margins.
Export forecasts for 2012 point to a decline
in exports this year as lower production leaves
less beef and cattle available for export. This
is borne out in figures for January, which
reveal a sharp decline in exports.
Some 33 043 tonnes of beef and live
cattle were exported to non-EU markets in
January, down 35.7% on the same month
last year. Shipments to the key Turkish
market fell by almost 60% to 7 880t (carcase
weight equivalent). The bulk of this trade
was accounted for by live cattle as a change
in Turkey’s tariff regime has hurt the
competitiveness of EU beef products.
EU beef and cattle exports to Russia were
equally disappointing, falling to just 4 872t
– barely half the volume shipped in January
2011. Further declines can be expected as
a result of Russia’s ban on imports of live
cattle from the EU due to concerns over the
Schmallenberg virus.
A 39% drop in shipments to Switzerland
saw it overtaken by Croatia as the EU’s third
largest export destination. Further down the
rankings, Lebanon and Algeria fell by 74%
and 39% respectively – only partially offset
by a rise in sales to other markets.
EU exports of beef and live cattle (carcase weight equivalent)
January 2012
Turkey
7 880
% change Jan 11
vs Jan 12
-59
Russia
4 872
-49
Croatia
1 420
+17
Algeria
1 318
-39
Switzerland
1 115
-39
545
-74
Other destinations
15 892
+1
Extra EU27 total
33 043
-36
Lebanon
Source: European Commission
EU prices for steer carcasses (R3, cent/kg)
420
400
380
360
340
320
300
Import demand weakens
Despite these declines, the EU remained a net
exporter in the period as imports fell 4.6% to
22 724t. South American suppliers shipped
slightly less beef to the EU than last year,
although Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay still
account for almost three quarters of total EU
beef imports.
The US, Australia and New Zealand all
gained ground in January however as they
took advantage of the EU’s 20 000t quota for
high quality hormone free beef. US shipments
to the EU rose 21% to 1 721t, almost matching
the 1 770t shipped by Australia. Meanwhile,
the 1 196t exported by New Zealand was 17%
more than in January 2011.
Commission data reveal that the hikes
in cattle prices seen in the EU are matched
by similar increases in many other leading
beef producing countries. Prices in Uruguay
have surged to unprecedented levels while
Source: EU Commission
prices in Argentina are only slightly below
the record highs reached last year. The US
and Australia are also seeing dramatic gains,
leaving Brazil and New Zealand the only
leading producers where prices have eased
back since the beginning of the year.
As elsewhere, the current strength of EU
prices is linked to supply tightness as production
levels shrink. Cattle numbers across the EU27
fell by 1.3% last year, according to preliminary
data from the European Commission which
does not yet have figures in from Belgium and
Greece. Cow numbers fell 1.7% while dairy cow
numbers were down 1.6% on the previous year.
Cattle numbers in France were down 2.6%
to 19.14m head, with the German herd dropping
1.4% at 12.53m head. The UK’s herd fell 2.2%
to 9.68m, while cattle numbers in Spain and
April 3, 2012
Poland fell 2.5% and 1.1% respectively.
Ireland saw total cattle numbers almost
unchanged on the previous year, as a decline
in the beef herd was offset by a rise in dairy
cows. The opposite was true in Italy and the
Czech Republic where the dairy herd shrunk,
but numbers of beef cattle were up on year
ago levels.
In its latest short-term outlook report, DG
Agri said it expects prices for all categories
of cattle to remain high throughout 2012 due
to limited supply and competition for earlier
marketed finished cattle to offset higher
feeding costs.
Domestic beef and veal production in the
EU27 is pegged by the report at 7.915 million
tonnes (cwe) in 2012, down 3.7% from
8.222mt last year.
www.agraeurope.com
15
Meat & Livestock
Beef sector rocked
by LFTB outcry
US company Beef Products Inc.
(BPI)
suspended
operations
at all but one of its plants last
week after a storm of negative
media coverage over lean finely
textured beef (LFTB), a product
dubbed by its critics as ‘pink
slime’.
The company said it would shutter its
plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa for 60
days pending a review of its strategy after
a disastrous few weeks for the business.
Finely textured beef is made from
beef trimmings that are heated, spun
in a centrifuge and then sprayed with
ammonium hydroxide to kill bacteria.
Following a high-profile campaign by
British TV chef Jamie Oliver, fast-food
chain McDonald’s said it would stop
using the product in its burgers in January
of this year.
Under pressure from consumer groups,
the US Department of Agriculture then
said it would give schools the choice not
to buy ground beef with the controversial
component.
But the real hammer blow came in the
space of the last two weeks, when many
of America’s leading supermarket chains
said they would stop buying products
containing LFTB – though they made
clear this was due to the public outcry
itself rather than any safety issues.
Despite government reassurances
over the product’s safety, the loss of so
many key buyers left Beef Products Inc.
with little option but to downsize its
operations.
The company is still hoping to turn
around public sentiment – last week
taking out a full-page ad in the Wall
Street Journal and launching a website to
defend its product.
But meat industry groups seem
resigned to the fact the temporary plant
closures may become permanent as they
struggle to contain a tide of negative
media coverage.
American Meat Institute president
J. Patrick Boyle blamed a “frenzy of
misinformation” for the loss of hundreds
of jobs in the sector, noting that finely
textured beef has been safely consumed
for the past two decades.
“Other American families will also
pay the price at the checkout counter as
they see the price of ground beef begin
to rise while we work to grow as many as
1.5 million more head of cattle to replace
the beef that will no longer be consumed
due to this manufactured scare,” he
concluded.
16
www.agraeurope.com
Judge orders FDA to change
stance on livestock antibiotics
In a major victory for health and consumer groups, a federal judge in New
York has ordered the US Food and Drug Administration to change its stance
on antibiotic use in livestock.
In a ruling last week, US judge Theodore
Katz, told the agency to withdraw approvals
for most non-therapeutic uses of penicillin
and tetracyclines in livestock, unless drug
manufacturers can prove they are safe.
The ruling is the latest step in a regulatory
process that began in 1977 when FDA
determined that feeding livestock certain
antibiotics used in human medicine could
promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria capable
of infecting people.
The agency never moved any further
on the issue, prompting from a coalition of
advocacy groups, including the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the
Union of Concerned Scientists to launch a
court challenge in May of last year.
In his ruling, Judge Katz sided with
these groups’ argument that FDA didn’t
follow through with its own administrative
procedures for withdrawing drug approvals.
Because FDA concluded the drugs had
not been shown to be safe, the agency should
have triggered the withdrawal proceedings to
move ahead, says Katz, who ordered FDA to
do just that.
“If, at the hearing, the drug sponsors
fail to show that use of the drugs is safe,
the Commissioner must issue a withdrawal
order,” he wrote in a 55-page court order.
Advocacy groups hailed the decision as an
important public health victory in their battle
to limit certain uses of animal drugs in foodproducing animals.
“This health threat has been hiding in
the margins for four decades. The rise of
superbugs that we see now was predicted by
FDA in the 70’s,” said NRDC attorney Jen
Sorenson. “Thanks to the Court’s order, drug
manufacturers will finally have to do what
FDA should have made them do 35 years
ago: prove that their drugs are safe for human
health, or take them off the market.”
Evidence disputed
US meat industry groups say low doses of
antibiotics can help protect healthy livestock
against disease – and deny there is clear evidence linking this practice to the development
of so-called ‘superbugs’ in humans. But the
NRDC points to evidence from Denmark,
where the use of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes was banned in the late 1990s.
It says Danish government and industry data
show a subsequent decrease in both the use of
antibiotics and the amount of drug-resistant
bacteria found in livestock and meat products.
The Court noted the issue in its
decision: “Research has shown that the
use of antibiotics in livestock leads to the
development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
that can be – and has been – transferred
from animals to humans through direct
contact, environmental exposure, and the
consumption and handling of contaminated
meat and poultry products.”
“...drug manufacturers will
finally have to do what FDA
should have made them do 35
years ago”
-NRDC
Vets urge caution over superbug claims
The British Veterinary Association has urged caution over the findings of a
new Soil Association report, which cites “overwhelming evidence’ that the
use of antibiotics in livestock is contributing to the rise of resistant human
E.coli infections.
In the report E.coli superbugs in farms and
food, the Soil Association, the main UK
organic certifier, blames a rise in the use of
cephalosporin antibiotics for the spread of a
virulent new type of extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) E.coli, which is linked to
large numbers of human fatalities.
But BVA president Carl Padgett points out
that these claims are not backed up by the
European Food Safety Authority which states
that prevalence of ESBL E.coli bacteria in
livestock is ‘generally unknown’.
“The leading scientific panel in Europe
has taken the view that the evidence is simply
not there to draw such conclusions,” he notes.
He says the BVA supports calls for a
stronger regulatory framework for newer
antibiotics, but warns that “kneejerk reactions
to the very real problem of antimicrobial
resistance can lead to blanket restrictions
on the use of these medicines by veterinary
surgeons that are not backed up by scientific
evidence”.
The Soil Association report includes a
number of key recommendations, including
a ban on the advertising of antibiotics to
farmers in the UK and a halving of the overall
use of antibiotics in farms within five years.
April 3, 2012
Farm Industry News
Global food governance
‘must focus on innovation’
Any attempt to improve food security at world level will have to globalise
production methods as well as markets, participants heard at the Forum
for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) in Brussels last week
The private sector may be more willing to share
technology than governments, noted Parag
Khanna, director of the Hybrid Reality Institute.
“The market for technology is too large
for us to think of winners and losers,” he said,
arguing that technology transfer for boosting
agricultural production does not have to be
seen by national capitals as a ‘zero-sum game’.
Geo-technology, including biotech, could
“equalise opportunities” for increasing
production, argued Khanna, who was US
President Barack Obama’s foreign policy
advisor during his first election campaign.
While one billion people are suffering from
malnutrition worldwide, the same number is
either obese or overweight and food waste
remains widespread, he pointed out.
While trade was seen as being part of the
solution to improving food security, World
Bank strategy and policy advisor for agriculture
Christopher Delgado underlined that 85% of
food is still consumed and produced in the
same country.
Increasing access to methods of food
production is central to food security, said
Khanna, nevertheless adding that it would be
a “win win” for the world if the EU could also
increase its output.
José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, directorgeneral for agriculture at the European
Commission, which represents all 27 EU
member states at G20 meetings, said that
production is now talked about with “very
high concern” during the talks.
While he sees no global policy on
production in place yet, Silva Rodríguez said
“elements” of it do already exist.
G20 countries last year pledged to invest
in and support research and development
for agriculture productivity and to set up an
‘Agricultural Market Information System’
(AMIS) to improve transparency in production,
consumption and stock levels.
But as to whether policymakers need to go
as far as establishing global food stocks to iron
out price spikes, World Bank representative
Delgado was sceptical.
While small emergency stocks may
be necessary, larger ones “tend to be very
expensive,” he cautioned.
What technologies?
John Atkin, chief operating officer at biotech
firm Syngenta, described the EU’s regulatory
approach to farm technologies as “disproportionate,” noting that red wine would be
considered safe for consumers to drink but too
dangerous to be applied to crops.
“I cannot remember at a time in the past
thirty years where as much technology was
available as today,” he said, claiming the EU
is not receptive to it.
“It always takes a long time to take public
opinion with you,” reasoned Delgado, referring
to a lack of public enthusiasm for GM crops in
the bloc.
Yet Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist
at the Natural Resources Defense Council,
warned that embracing GM on a global scale
could mean “the most advanced genetic
engineering technology being introduced into
the least developed, least educated and least
well administrated areas”.
This would hold the potential to do
“irreversible harm,” he stressed.
Increase in European tractor registrations
The European Agricultural Machinery industry association (CEMA) has
reported that the total market for tractors in the 19 European countries
that its data covers increased by 12.6% last year.
In total, European tractor registrations
reached 163 521 units in 2011, compared
with 145 223 units in 2010, the respected industry group said.
The data showed a particularly strong
increase in demand in the two leading markets
– France and Germany – in the 2011 calendar
year following relatively weak demand in
the previous 12 months. French registrations
jumped 21.8% year-on-year to 38 133 units,
while in Germany the total volume was up by
25.9% to 35 977.
Italy was the third biggest market in
Europe last year although registrations only
showed a marginal increase of 0.5% to 23 429
tractors from 23 324 previously. The UK saw
a 5% increase in 2011 tractor registrations to
15 217 units, but Spain recorded a 5.2% drop
to 10 010 tractors.
Other notable figures included a 19%
increase in Sweden to 4 877 tractor
registrations, while the Netherlands recorded
a 41.1% jump to 4 074 registrations, although
this is an estimate from CEMA as no official
data exists within the country.
Outside of the EU, Norwegian registrations
were up by 18.5% to 3 829 tractors, Switzerland
registered an increase of 12.3% to 3 083 units
and EU candidate country Iceland registered
49 tractors, up from 31 in 2010.
April 3, 2012
Higher profile needed
for agri-policies
New techniques, less waste,
sustainable intensification and
lower greenhouse gas emissions
on farms are needed if future
generations are to be adequately
fed, a new report has reiterated.
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change spent more than
a year assessing evidence from scientists
and policymakers. Its final report, released
last week, concluded that this will demand
major interventions, at local and international levels.
It also repeated the recent insistence of
its chairman, the UK government’s chief
scientific adviser Prof Sir John Beddington,
that the economic and policy framework
around food production and consumption
have to change to meet these goals.
Farmers need more investment and
better information and governments need
to put sustainable farming at the heart of
national policies, it says.
Prof Tekalign Mamo, who advises
the agriculture ministry in Ethiopia, said
models already existed for many of the
transformations needed.
One, highlighted in the report,
is Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net
Programme, inaugurated in 2003 with
the involvement of the government and
international partners.
“One [aspect of it] is household
asset building, so people don’t deplete
their resources in times of chronic food
shortage,” Prof Mamo told BBC News.
“Another is working on community
assets such as building small-scale
irrigation or watershed development; the
communities own such activities and also
allocate free labour, and the government
provides incentives like food or cash for
those participating.
“It has lifted about 1.3 million of
the population from poverty and into
food security, and at the same time they
also conserved and rehabilitated the
environment.”
India’s guarantee of employment in
rural areas, Vietnam’s progress with no-till
rice farming (which reduces greenhouse
gas emissions from soil), and moves to
give women secure land ownership in
five southern African countries are also
highlighted in the report.
Its recommendations for developed
nations include a reduction in food waste.
The commission was established by
the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the
global network of institutions working on
food and poverty issues.
www.agraeurope.com
17
Alan Bullion
Comment & Analysis
Analyst
The return of the nation state
to CAP policy
With economic austerity across the Eurozone, and sluggish growth forecast for coming years, some critics are
calling for a wholesale liberalisation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In a new pamphlet for the UK-based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Séan Rickard
argues that the way Brussels currently spends
its €55 billion budget is actually leading to
more inefficient farming practices and higher
food costs for consumers, mainly through its
continued rejection of GM crops.
“The current EU review of the CAP
should instead be looking at de-regulating
the agricultural industry, amongst scrapping
the CAP and freeing European agriculture,”
Rickard, a former National Farmers Union
economist in England, said.
He therefore concludes that direct income
payments for farms should be phased out,
which would save €40bn a year. Interestingly,
the Commission itself has admitted that
administration costs for these payments could
rise by 15% from 2014 under the current
reform package.
These days the IEA has much less influence
on policy than it did in the 1980s, although
Rickard remains largely right in calling for
more fluid GM crops authorisation processes
in the EU - even if they may not automatically
deliver the higher yields he envisages.
Meanwhile, Open Europe, another wellfunded Eurosceptic think-tank, claims that the
UK gets a particularly bad deal from the CAP,
contributing £7.1bn (€8.5bn) more than it gets
back over the current EU budget period.
At the same time, it contends the support
payments that the UK receives are spent in
a way that actively channels resources away
from areas and sectors that could generate the
most economic or environmental benefits.
Like the neo-liberal IEA, Open Europe
says that if the CAP cannot be abolished
altogether, it would prefer a radical overhaul,
linking support to measurable environmental
benefits, while allowing productive farmers to
opt in or out of the scheme. At the same time,
the overall CAP budget would be rationalised,
reducing the UK’s contribution to the EU
budget by £7.3bn (€8.8bn) over seven years.
“The EU’s farm policy currently costs
taxpayers and consumers around Europe
almost €90bn a year, but in the UK, only 13%
of EU farm spending is explicitly aimed at
protecting and enhancing the environment
while farmers are currently paid not to farm,
which is simply a terrible use of scarce public
resources,” said Christopher Howarth, lead
author of the Open Europe report.
According to the think tank, the UK
remains a large loser from the CAP. Between
2007 and 2013, it will contribute £33.7bn to
the CAP and get back £26.6bn, representing
a net contribution of £7.1bn. Per hectare, the
UK receives £188, compared with for example
France, Germany and the Netherlands which
18
www.agraeurope.com
receive £236, £251 and £346 respectively.
In a much repeated critique, Open Europe
contends there remains no clear link between
the wealth of a country and how much it
receives from the CAP. Latvia, for example,
gets £115/ha from the EU’s Single Payment
Scheme – the least out of all member states
– despite average farmers’ income being only
35% of the EU average. By contrast, older and
wealthier member states such as Ireland and
France with larger agricultural sectors continue
to benefit more financially from the CAP.
‘Ineffective’ greening policy
More surprisingly for a Eurosceptic thinktank however, Open Europe specifically
chides the EU on the relative ineffectiveness
of its ‘greening’ measures to date. “The share
of the CAP spent on explicit environmental
aims in the UK is only 13.6%. By failing to
differentiate between different types of land,
direct CAP subsidies actively channel public
resources away from where they could create
the biggest environmental gain,” it maintains.
“At the same time, by providing income
support irrespective of whether any meaningful
economic activity takes place on a farm,
direct CAP subsidies often act as an outright
disincentive for farmers to modernise, in turn
locking in unviable business models and hurting
Europe’s competitiveness,” it continues.
As a result, Open Europe calculates that the
cost to European consumers and taxpayers of
CAP supports and tariffs stands at €86.9bn. Of
this, some €52.5bn stems from CAP subsidies.
“If, hypothetically, the CAP and other EU
measures to protect farming, such as tariffs,
were fully liberalised and the money freed up
were re-channelled to more productive areas
of the economy, it could be worth a boost in
output equivalent to €139bn or 1.1% of EU
GDP. Britain would experience a boost in
output of €14.2bn or the equivalent of 135 000
full-time and part-time jobs,” the report
authors claim.
Open Europe fully realises that of all
the reform options currently on the table,
full liberalisation remains most unlikely,
with government intervention continuing to
dominate policy in some shape or form.
“Therefore, we propose a pragmatic mix:
a new, radically revamped EU farm policy,
allowing for resources to be effectively
allocated to both production and environmental
benefits while better targeting jobs and
growth,” their report says.
This would basically involve four steps:
1) The current CAP structure would be
replaced with a system of agri-environmental
allowances. Funding for member states would
be allocated according to environmental
criteria, such as bio-diversity, but be
administered nationally. Payments could then
be transferred between farmers depending on
where the environmental gain is the greatest.
2) After complying with some minimum
environmental standards, farmers would then
be free to opt in or out of this scheme, with
those farmers wanting to focus exclusively on
production being free to do so.
3) EU-level funding for rural economic
development should be limited to the poorer
member states only, and be migrated over to
the EU’s structural funds. Farmers should also
be able to qualify for time-limited support
from a fund similar to the EU’s Globalisation
Adjustment Fund, targeted at making farmers
more competitive and able to move into other
parts of the economy.
4) A limited pot of money for agriculture
related R&D should remain at the EU level.
Of the two proposals, the Open Europe
scenario of devolved policy administration is
the more cogent and carefully crafted, with its
environmental bias going with the grain of EU
policy, while Rickard’s slim document is more
of a familiarly passionate cri de coeur.
Indeed, as with GM crop policy and wider
budgetary policies, member states such as
France and the UK are increasingly calling for a
greater say in how ‘active farmers’ are defined,
as well as the ‘greening of direct payments.
Ireland’s farm minister Simon Coveney
has likewise called for a menu of ‘greening’
criteria to be drawn up by the Commission
for national capitals to choose from. Agra
Europe understands that Dublin is expected
to be part of a coalition of some nine or ten
member states which is shortly expected
to propose an alternative option to the
Commission’s greening plan, involving menus
of environmentally-friendly practices being
drawn up at national, rather than EU level.
Both UK farm minister Jim Paice and
his boss, environment secretary Caroline
Spelman, have spoken up repeatedly in favour
of greater CAP liberalisation and devolved
greening agendas.
Of course, it can be argued that powerful
founding members such as France and
Germany have always largely pursued a
national agenda since the birth of the CAP in
1962. But the advent of ‘national envelopes’
and nationally differentiated forms of making
payment has in itself put more power back
in the hands of the member states and their
administrations. It will be instructive to see
whether, as the late economist Alan Milward
predicted, the nation state will further reassert itself through the latest EU agricultural
reform process.
April 3, 2012
John Allen
Comment & Analysis
Managing
Partner
The EU dairy industry: skating towards
a redrawn future
Kite
Consulting
Forgive the American anecdote but it’s apt: “Good ice hockey players skate towards the puck. The very best
players skate to where the puck is going to go.” We all know these oft-cited phrases about change, but it’s quite
apposite – if there’s one thing certain about the European dairy industry it’s that the puck will never stop moving.
If I’m asked one question more than any
other it is about what will happen to the
industry. In other words, where’s the puck
going to go?
Nobody is a fortune teller. But we can see
the direction of the puck in the UK at farm
level. We have now had two years of steady
growth in milk output, by over 3.5% after
a 10% contraction, as we adjusted to deregulation of milk markets during 2000-2008.
This means that our industry now has no
quota cost and we can see how competitive
farm businesses are gearing up for expansion
with more cows. This is making the UK a
lower cost EU operator and attracting interest
from external investment – witness Lactalis,
Fonterra, Arla and Muller in the UK.
Some commentators like to look at the
UK to see how the rest of the EU will go –
based on our history there could be a painful
industry re-adjustment in parts of the EU
post 2015 when quotas go, before output will
re-grow from more competitive businesses.
At processor level it is pretty obvious
that what is happening across Europe now
will continue to happen in the future: there
will be more takeovers (the Muller-Wiseman
one being the latest), more mergers, greater
co-operation, and increasing numbers of
joint-ventures – both within countries and
across the EU, if not the world.
We can also safely predict there will
be a continued rise of the co-operatives in
dairying, at the same time as the plcs exit the
industry – unable, as they are, to live with the
same rate of return co-ops are happy with.
Here in the UK we have only one plc left
now – Dairy Crest – and there is speculation
that it might be wooed by another company
soon.
That’s because Dairy Crest has some
excellent brands – Britain’s premier dairy
brand in fact, in ‘Cathedral City’. It is already
very clear that the UK is a very attractive
market for European food producers. The
Muller takeover, and Arla’s investments
here, are evidence of that.
Here in the UK, I can see some major
consolidation taking place over the next few
years, starting with liquid milk. It is hard to
put names and timescales on it, of course,
but there are a number of factors that point
towards the timeframe being in the short to
medium term, rather than the long term.
Firstly, liquid processors are being
squeezed like never before by the
combination of retailer pressure and an
inability to drop the milk price. That
is because milk is in such demand that
processors would lose both farmer goodwill
and volumes if they did so.
Secondly, Arla Foods is building a brand
new super-efficient £150 million (€179.4m)
dairy at Aylesbury, which will, when full,
process up to 1.3 billion litres of fresh milk
a year – 7.5% of current UK milk supply. It
is a game changer in the UK industry, in a
sector which already has plentiful processing
capacity.
Thirdly, there’s the Muller factor. Prior to
the Wiseman deal it had a relatively low-key
presence in the UK, specialising in fresh
dairy products like yogurts.
The Commission wants
producers to hold greater
sway. That is good for co-ops
but bad for PLCs
Now it is in the big league, and the big
question being asked is whether its Wiseman
acquisition is the start, or the end, of its
ambitions. Either way it is another catalyst –
other companies will certainly be concerned
that the German giant might try and capture
the mergers, the deals, and the joint ventures
that they have set their eyes upon.
Fourthly, there’s the rise and rise of our
co-operatives – with Milk Link leading the
way and now First Milk catching up fast
after a slower start. Compared to EU dairy
co-operatives ours are still in their infancy,
being only ten years old compared to a
hundred or so for some EU ones.
They have also both spent much of their
formative years bogged down in politics,
stemming from the botched demise of
the Milk Marketing Board monopoly.
Fortunately, though, they have both got
their act together and are now seen as major
forces in the industry, in a way they were
not five or more years ago. We are already
seeing other companies in other countries
being attracted to our co-ops, and this will
undoubtedly continue.
And fifthly there’s politics. The European
Commission is clearly on the farmer’s side.
It wants producers to hold greater sway, and
have more control. That is good for co-ops,
but bad for PLCs.
All of the above factors, and more,
will be major catalysts for change and
consolidation. The questions that are being
asked in the UK are what will happen, to
whom, and when. Will Milk Link and First
Milk merge? (They tried, but it did not come
April 3, 2012
off and there seems to be less of an appetite
now.) Or will First Milk be Fonterra’s
passport into the UK? (They already have
a joint venture arrangement.) How will EU
co-operatives like the ambitious Arla Foods
develop their relationships with UK co-ops?
(They already share processing sites.) Which
liquid processor will fall by the wayside
first?
They are not easy questions to answer,
not least the latter one because there is no
obvious potential failure like Dairy Farmers
of Britain, who paid way over the odds for
old processing assets, and which went bust in
2010.
Nevertheless, and inevitably, speculation
regarding the liquid sector is centred on
Dairy Crest, because its liquid division is not
making any money at all right now, plus the
smaller liquid milk processors.
Aylesbury, to paraphrase industry talk,
will force Dairy Crest out of liquid milk
because it has not done a Wiseman (i.e
invested in new, modern facilities) and is
not doing an Aylesbury; because it likes its
brands and liquid milk is not branded, and
because it likes its profit, and it makes a lot
more from brands for a lot less effort.
Dairy Crest will exit liquid milk and once
it does so the remaining two players will
have more power against the retailers, and
their margins and profits will increase.
It is fair comment. But these arguments
fall down on a number of fronts – Dairy
Crest loves its liquid milk, is investing in its
plants, and has some good retailer contracts
with ambitions for more.
It also thrives on being a broad-based
business. It needs the milk for its middle
ground and ‘milk&more’ business, and the
cream for butter. The company is adamant
that Aylesbury will not force Dairy Crest
out of liquid milk. Others insist it will. We
shall see. Either way, no one should underestimate Dairy Crest.
And of the smaller processors who
serve the much smaller supermarkets and
individual stores? Dairying history shows
that where there are new builds there are
closures. It is inevitable.
To return to our opening analogy then,
the puck is whizzing madly around the dairy
industry’s rink all over Europe. For some
companies opportunity knocks, and he who
spots where the puck will go will win. For
others, though, there’s definitely thin ice
ahead.
Who will team up with whom, and who
will rescue who will be interesting to see.
www.agraeurope.com
19
Company News
DSM buys Verenium oilseed
processing business
Netherlands-based Royal DSM has agreed
to buy Verenium’s food enzyme and oilseed
processing business for $37 million (€28m).
The acquisition includes Verenium’s licenses
for certain food enzymes and access to
biodiversity libraries that Verenium will
create using proprietary technology. The
2012 sales of these businesses are estimated
at about US$15m (€11m), growing rapidly in
the coming years. Verenium has developed
Purifine PLC, an enzyme that offers cropbased oil producers a sustainable way to
improve yields as well as overall processing
economics. The annual market growth for
enzymes in the global crop-based oil market
is expected to be about 50% in the coming
years with the market potential estimated at
more than US$350m (€263m).
ADM looks to Europe and India
for expansion
US-based oilseed processor Archer Daniels
Midland (ADM) is seeking acquisitions
in Europe and India and plans to increase
exports from South America as growing
incomes and population drive demand
for food, a leading company official has
revealed. Matt Jansen, ADM’s senior vice
president, told reporters during a webcast
that the firm is focusing on growth and
consolidation, while also looking to expand
its North American business. He added
that he expects to see continued growth in
China through its partnership with Wilmar
International. “The less fragmented the
market, the better the margin environment
will be,” Jansen said.
Cargill opens ninth feed plant
in Vietnam
Cargill is preparing to open a new feed mill
in Vietnam’s Ha Nam province, signalling
further expansion in one of the world’s
fastest growing markets. Located in Duy Tien
district, the new mill will begin production
by the third quarter of this year, bringing
the total number of Cargill feed mills in
Vietnam to nine. This latest investment in
Ha Nam follows the company’s acquisition
of a shrimp feed mill in Tien Giang Province
in November 2011. According to a report
in the Vietnam Investment Review, Cargill
aims to double the production capacity of
its Vietnamese feed operations to 1.5 million
tonnes per year by 2015.
Brasil Foods suffers Q4
dip after year of growth
Brazilian meatpacker Brasil Foods reported a steep rise in profits in 2011
but saw its fourth quarter performance hurt by one-off provisions linked
to its merger with Sadia.
The company reported full-year net profits of
R$1.37bn (€563 million), up 70% when compared to 2010.
Adjusting for the costs of integrating Sadia,
full-year net profit came in at R$1.6bn (€658m),
almost double the previous year’s levels.
Export sales for the year rose 12.3% to
R$10bn (€4.11bn), as higher sales to Europe
and China helped offset tougher conditions in
the Middle East, where trade was disrupted
by popular uprisings (the Arab Spring).
Shipments to Eurasia were hit by Russian
import restrictions, but the company was able
to redirect much of this lost business to Ukraine.
Despite a ‘hostile environment’ in some
export markets, the company said full year
net sales rose 13.3% to R$25.7bn (€10.6bn),
closing the year with an output equivalent to
6.2 million tonnes of products.
“These results have been made possible
thanks to the capture of synergies from the
merger, swift remedial action in the face of
cost increases, the penetration of our brands
and our widely dispersed distribution network
in the domestic market,” said Brasil Foods
CEO José Antonio do Prado Fay.
“We continue to invest heavily in Brazil and
to move forward with our internationalisation
through selective acquisitions and the
construction of a plant overseas,” he added,
referring to the firm’s new processed products
facility in the United Arab Emirates.
Due to be unveiled in early 2013, the unit will
be important in consolidating the company’s
share of Halal-related products market.
The firm is also expanding its horizons
in Asia, opening a sales office in China, and
setting up a joint venture to process meat at
local units, disseminate the Sadia brand and
enter retail and food channels. There are also
plans before the end of 2013, to build a plant
in the country, according to Prado Fay.
Dip in Q4 profits
The cost of integrating Sadia weighed on
fourth quarter profits, which fell 66% on year
to R$121m (€50m). The company booked a
one-time provision of R$215m (€88.4m) in the
quarter, setting cash aside for the anticipated
tax effect of the integration of its Sadia unit.
Without that provision, the company said
net income for Q4 would have been R$336m
(€138m), down just 7% from a year earlier.
Fertiliser giant uncovers possible corruption
Norwegian fertiliser firm Yara International has uncovered “unacceptable
payments” from the company’s joint venture in Switzerland.
The payments were discovered following an
external investigation of possible corruption
initiated in April last year. The Norwegian
National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime
(ØKOKRIM) has been notified of the findings.
“We will get to the bottom of this,”
said Jørgen Ole Haslestad, president of
Yara International. “Such breaches of Yara
standards are unacceptable, but I am satisfied
that Yara initiated the external investigation,
enabling us to uncover these new incidents.”
Swiss federal prosecutors confirmed
to Reuters that a Swiss company is being
investigated in connection with the suspected
corruption uncovered by Yara but the
company was not named. “The Swiss Federal
Prosecutor’s Office has opened a penal
procedure against a Swiss company suspected
of corruption and forgery of documents,”
Jeannette Balmer, spokeswoman for the
prosecutor’s office, said in a statement.
The “additional findings” referred to by
Haslestad relate to possible offences that could
have taken place prior to October 2008 in
connection with the establishment and follow-up
of Yara’s ownership in Libyan Norwegian
Fertiliser Company. The investigation is still
ongoing and was in May 2011 extended to
cover other projects including India.
Editor: Adam Sharpe
Brussels Correspondent: Mark Grassi
Production: Peter Storey
Deputy Editor: Catherine Paice
Brussels Correspondent: Paul Hutchison
Customer Services:
Livestock Editor: Max Green
Analyst: Dr Alan Bullion
Editorial Director: Chris Horseman
Marketing: Toby Webb
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General Enquiries Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 5540
or (US) toll free: +1 800 997 3892
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Email: [email protected]
Agra Europe is published by Informa Agra, IBI, Guardian House, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3DA, UK. www.agra-net.com
© Informa UK Ltd 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
20
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April 3, 2012

EUROPA ORIENTAL - Ministério da Agricultura

Transcription

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