Brussels, 28/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Mediterranean is said to be a “true barometer of trends competing to put agronomic and food issues back at the heart of contemporary strategic thinking” (our translation throughout), the Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) writes. It announces the appearance of a work entitled “A Mediterranean Challenge” drafted by the organisation “Mediterra”, the 2014 edition of which is devoted to agri-food trade and logistics. The work contains contributions from over 70 international experts in the aim of providing keys to interpretation and essential strategic indicators relating to the Mediterranean region.
CIHEAM affirms that the Mediterranean region “would be unable to do without agricultural trade which, more than ever before and given the demographic and economic trends, plays a capital role, accentuating the fact that rim countries depend on each other, and forming new links with the rest of the planet”.
“In a fast-changing world, where one must be able to trade with as many partners as possible, and therefore to diversify external relations, logistical performance is proving ever more strategic”, the work points out, adding: “It is necessary to be able to improve the marketing of farm produce not only at the temporal level but also with regard to health. More trade with better quality products: this is therefore a huge challenge for agri-food players”.
“In a context of globalisation and Mediterranean socio-political upheaval, the development of Mediterranean farm trade is increasingly determined by the ability of the countries of the region to have a modern infrastructure in order to make trade more fluid, to facilitate goods circulation and to ensure better food safety”, CIHEAM writes. (FB/transl.jl)