Brussels, 06/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - France and Spain have joined forces on new regulation of the fruit and vegetable markets. French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire and Spanish Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Rosa Aguilar reached agreement on Tuesday 6 September on a raft of measures for the fruit and vegetable sector which will be discussed at the next Agriculture Council in Brussels on 20 September.
With European fruit and vegetable sectors experiencing serious problems, Le Maire and Aguilar have agreed to increase Franco-Spanish cooperation in agriculture and have proposed ambitious measures for regulation of fruit and vegetable markets in Europe. The proposals have four strands.
Renewed crisis management instruments. In particular, France and Spain are calling for: - a mechanism for the withdrawal of products from the market, to be triggered within a set period of time; at Community level, this mechanism should, the two countries say, be open to independent producers in order to make them more efficient; compensation for withdrawal should be in line with the realities of the markets; - in times of serious crisis on a market, the immediate, Community-funded implementation of information and promotion initiatives to reassure consumers, encourage consumption of fruit and vegetables and support the marketing of crisis-beset European products; - revenue insurance facilities, such as mutual funds or mechanisms to stabilise producers' incomes, to help producers through periods of difficulty, along the same lines as those which already exist in the areas of climate change and health.
Greater transparency on the fruit and vegetable markets to be achieved through putting in place an updated and responsive information tool, providing information on European production capacities and how the season is progressing, and also on developments in consumption. These measures are to be put in place through setting up a European monitoring centre.
Improved organisation of production. France and Spain are both keen to see producers' negotiating power increased, through, for example, amendment of EU competition law.
More effective operation of the “entry price” mechanism which contributes to the transparency of trade flows with non-EU countries and closer monitoring of trade agreements.
The French and Spanish agriculture ministers say in a press release that the crisis that European fruit and vegetable producers are experiencing “demonstrates the importance for all sectors of agriculture of a strong common agricultural policy after 2013 with a budget at least on present levels, and ensuring fresh market regulation”. The principle of reciprocity of standards must be applied in multilateral trade negotiations: “agriculture must not be the balancing variable of international trade”, the two countries say.
Le Maire and Aguilar agreed to make sure that Community standards are fully applied in the two countries in order to guarantee the free movement of goods. The France-Spain-Italy joint committee will meet to discuss this issue before the end of October and will take stock of the fruit and vegetable season.
The meeting between French and Spanish agriculture ministers comes after action by French fruit and vegetable producers over the last few months. Demonstrators in the south of France stopped lorries transporting Spanish peaches, nectarines, pears and figs, and South African oranges, emptying their contents onto the road, claiming that they were low-cost products which did not comply with standards.
Le Maire is due, on Wednesday 7 September, to present a recovery plan to French fruit and vegetable producers to whom he made the promise at the end of August of several million euro in immediate aid and a stepping up of efforts to combat illegal imports. (L.C./transl.rt)