On Monday 4 November, EU Member States reviewed the situation in the fruit and vegetable, beekeeping and olive growing sectors in Europe.
This is the sixth sectoral debate of its kind organised by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU on the situation of agricultural markets (dairy products, pork and poultry, beef, sheepmeat and goatmeat, cereals, oilseeds and sugar, wine - see EUROPE 13502/12).
Following a presentation by the European Commission, the delegations on the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) mentioned the negative consequences of adverse weather conditions and the health and plant health risks associated with climate change.
Several delegations called for the system of producer organisations in the fruit and vegetable sector to be simplified.
In terms of risk management, the importance of insurance schemes has been highlighted within the SCA. With regard to honey in particular, several delegations expressed concern about the impact of imports of cheap honey from third countries and adulterated honey, as well as about unfair competition from Chinese products (see EUROPE 13251/18).
The mortality of bees was highlighted by some countries, while many delegations welcomed the revision of the honey directive and its beneficial effects on the labelling and traceability of products (see EUROPE 13401/2). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)