Page 308 of articles about markets-economics

Member States endorsed yesterday a Commission proposal that shall harmonise the implementation of the zero tolerance policy on non-authorised genetically modified (GM) material in feed. The adopted measure defines the lowest level of GM presence (LLP) that is considered by the EU GMO Reference Laboratory when validating detection methods (it is set at 0.1%).

EU agriculture ministers threw their weight behind calls for mandatory origin labelling of pork, lamb and poultry, with milk and dairy products to follow later on.

December statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) confirm that pork export value posted the second-best year on record at $4.78 billion, falling just 2 percent short of the 2008 high and besting 2009 by more than 10 percent. Total volume was 1.918 million metric tons – an increase of 3 percent over the previous year.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, today welcomed the European Parliament's support for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and South Korea. An overwhelming majority of MEPs voted for the deal (465 MEPs in favour) meaning that from 1st July 2011 businesses from both sides will be able to trade more freely and easily than ever before. This is the first time that the European Parliament has endorsed a trade agreement and adopted accompanying trade legislation under the Lisbon Treaty procedures.

Import duties on certain cereals imported into the EU will be suspended next week until the end of June 2011 in order to ease the pressure on the EU market, especially for animal feed. Backed by Member States this morning within the Management Committee, the move is intended to help maintain a good balance on the EU market. The suspension relates to existing tariff rate quotas for low & medium quality soft wheat and for feed barley, where the preferential tariffs of 12 €/tonne and 16 €/tonne respectively will be reduced to zero for the volumes permitted under the quota.

For 2010-11, total exports are forecast to be slightly lower than 2009-10 due to lower exports of wheat (ex-durum), canola, oats and flaxseed.

Data from China's Customs show that frozen pork exports recorded 110,000 tonnes in 2010, or an increase of 26.3% from the previous year.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday announced it had included pork, mutton, beef and their by-products onto the list of bulk agricultural products required for import reporting as of April 1.

The European Commission has authorised under EU state aid rules the extension until 31 December 2011 of a temporary Dutch scheme to grant aid of up to € 15 000 per beneficiary.

South Korea will raise the volume limit of imported pork subject to its tariff quota system, in a bid to tame rising food costs.

A federally-funded exit program for cash-strapped hog producers has officially earmarked all available cash as of Jan. 31 and is now being wound down.

EU Healthcare Commissioner John Dalli and Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov held a business meeting held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.