Brussels, 01/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1 June, EU agricultural organisations called for measures to be taken to tackle difficulties being experienced in the olive oil and table olives sector. Copa (European farmers) and Cogeca (European agri-cooperatives) called for activation of private storage for olive oil, "as a first step to help improve the drastic situation". In the medium term, however, the EU agricultural organisations declare that "a number of instruments must be put in place in order to rebalance the market and to prevent a crisis from happening again in the future". The olive oil and table olives sector is suffering the full force of the fall in prices in 2009, which have dropped as much as 15.2%, compared to prices in 2008. Copa-Cogeca explained that "low prices, combined with unbalanced power in the food chain, have repercussions on the viability of the sector in many European regions…Furthermore investments made to improve the quality of the product are not being rewarded adequately”. Benedetto Orlandi, the chairman of the Copa-Cogeca olive oil working party, indicated that measures needed to rebalance the market include "concentrating supply via producer organisations, especially cooperatives". He also said that it was necessary to take measures "to guarantee and provide a return on the quality of the product"; - such as labelling and promotion actions necessary to inform consumers about the product. Orlandi said that "the levels at which private storage mechanisms are activated must be updated in order to create new levels, which take into account the real situation as regards production costs. These prices, fixed a decade ago, have never been reviewed". (L.C./transl.fl)