Ukrainian PM welcomes EU deal on farm imports

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the deal would allow Ukraine to support its producers and maintain its export levels.

Several EU states opposed agricultural imports from Ukraine at summit in Brussels

The leaders of several EU countries spoke against the import of Ukrainian agricultural products at the summit in Brussels, while Belgian farmers asked Ukraine's neighbors to block such supplies at the EU borders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said speaking on the Kossuth radio program.

Les terroristes vendent le blé syrien aux pays voisins

Outre tous les horreurs qu’il a provoquées, le chaos du conflit syrien n’a pas épargné le secteur agricole du pays, perturbant la production et les canaux de livraison.

Deux ans après, éleveurs et horticulteurs belges continuent à souffrir de l'embargo russe

Les éleveurs et horticulteurs belges continuent à sentir les effets négatifs de l'embargo russe sur les produits alimentaires européens, deux ans après sa mise en place, indique mercredi le syndicat agricole flamand Boerenbond.

Russia not in hurry to open market for Turkey

Russia is not in a hurry to open its market for Turkey as it needs to support local agricultural producers in the first place, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said Wednesday.

Bulgaria will not allow Greek farmers to ruin bilateral relations. - Bulgarian FM

Bulgaria has built up its relations with Greece over 25 years and will not allow 100 to 200 Greek farmers to ruin the work done, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said on February 24, as Greek blockades and Bulgarian counter-blockades of the countries’ mutual borders resumed.

El mundo está al borde del hambre y la escasez de agua es inminente

El mundo se enfrenta a un futuro de escasez de alimentos y migración masiva como consecuencia de la escasez de agua generalizada causada por el calentamiento global, cita el periódico 'The Independent' al secretario general de la Organización Meteorológica Mundial, Michel Jarraud.

MartyroPathia Etos EL Times News and Global Introspect (March 2015 - B)

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The Greek government asked Russia to partially lift the food import embargo imposed in summer 2014 in response the EU sanctions. If Russia agrees, Greece oranges, strawberry and peaches will be available in the Russian market again.

Greek Deputy Agriculture Minister Panagiotis Sguridis discussed the issue with Alexei Alekseenko, a representative of the Russian Agriculture Minister, at a meeting in Thessaloniki during the international food expo................Greece Asks Russia to Partially Lift Food Embargo

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( InT-News as comments 11/3/15 --- 20/3/15)
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 ( Ela- News as comments  11/3/15 --- 20/3/15)

Selling in ruble takes Turkish agro businesses to brink of bankruptcy

Turkish agriculture sector producers, who had raised their hopes of taking a larger share in the Russian market due to Moscow’s political rows with Europe, are now paying the price of advanced sales in the ruble, the Russian currency that is currently in free fall.

Russian import ban: how should the EU support the affected companies? (EP)

European companies have started to feel the impact of the Russian import ban introduced on 7 August. The measure, which includes anything from Polish apples to Belgian pork, is Russia’s response to EU sanctions over the country’s involvement in the crisis in the Ukraine. We talked to Bernd Lange (Germany, S&D), chair of the international trade committee, and Czesław Siekierski (Poland, EPP), chair of the agriculture committee, about how the EU can make a difference in this trade conflict.

Commission suspends emergency measures for perishable fruit and vegetables and will come forward with a more targeted scheme

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 10 September 2014:

The European Commission has today suspended the emergency market measures for perishable fruit and vegetable markets (worth 125 million €) announced on August 18 in the wake of the Russian measures banning imports of certain EU agricultural products. There has been strong interest from the sectors concerned, but the scheme has to be closed due to a disproportionate surge in claims – for example where the figures submitted for some products are several times higher than the total EU average annual exports to Russia.

EP committees press Italian Presidency on response to Ukraine crisis. (The strategic partnership with Russia was now over -The EU to play a more ambitious international role)

EUROPA - Latest press releases and statements:
 
The EU's response to the crisis in Ukraine was in the spotlight at Parliament this week, following President Schulz's warning to EU leaders last Saturday of the dangers of escalation and his plea for a political solution to the crisis. 
He called on the EU to play a more ambitious international role and said it must give Ukraine the financial and political help needed to remain a unified and independent country.

EU Farmers to Receive Only Partial Compensation for Russian Food Ban. (German Minister Urges Europeans to Eat More Fruit)

MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - European farmers, affected by the Russian food ban, will not receive full compensation, German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

The minister said he did not want people to get the wrong idea that “there would be one-to-one compensation. There can’t be that.”

However, Schmidt said there would be compensation in the form of support in order to get a better “grip on the market.” He also urged people to consume more.

EU milk overflowing due to Russian ban

The European Commission announces emergency market support measures for the milk sector...

The European Commission has announced that it will open Private Storage Aid for butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP) and certain cheeses in order to alleviate the impact of Russian restrictions on imports of EU dairy products and to limit the negative effects on the internal market. The Commission has also confirmed that the period for public intervention of butter & SMP will be extended until the end of the year.

Commission Statement on today’s Expert Group meeting to discuss agricultural markets in the context of the Russian ban

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 22 August 2014:

Today’s Expert Group meeting provided the Commission and Member State experts with a further chance to discuss elements relating to the impact on EU markets of the Russian import restrictions announced two weeks ago.

• On the emergency support measures for peaches & nectarines announced on August 11 (see IP/14/920) – and published in the Official Journal today – the Commission confirmed that the additional funding for peaches & nectarines is aimed primarily at withdrawals for free distribution, but will also cover withdrawals for “other destinations (e.g. composting, non-food use, etc).” The legal text will be amended in the coming days to this effect. The budget for these measures is €29.7 million for withdrawals and €3 million for promotion, allocated to Italy, Spain, Greece and France on the basis of annual production.

EU to examine Poland’s complaint over Russian embargo

The European Commission accepted Poland's motion to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against Russia's trade embargo for EU food exports, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said on Tuesday.
Poland has asked the European Commission to lodge a formal complaint  over Russia's refusal to buy Polish produce including fruit and vegetables to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agricultural embargo has hit Poland particularly hard. According to the agriculture ministry, Poland exported over 804,000 tons of fruit and vegetables worth almost EUR 336 million to Russia last year.

Switzerland Refuses to Help EU Food Producers Bypass Russian Ban

MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Switzerland has refused to allow some European Union food producers, subject to a Russian ban on food imports, to route supplies through its territory, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture.

The office said it has rejected requests from fruit, vegetable and foodstuffs producers seeking ways to work around Russian food bans by exporting through the Alpine country, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

European farmers seeking to bypass Russian bans with "Made in Turkey"- ("Made in FYROM") tags

European food producers are reportedly seeking to bypass Moscow’s ban on western food imports by deceiving authorities over the origin of the products with tags claiming the food is produced in countries that are not banned, including Turkey.

“Some EU countries have started sending their products to Belarus without specifying the real country of their origin. They write, for example – FYROM***, but we have found that it is Poland and Greece, as the FYROM origin was not confirmed,” Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Sergei Dankvert, head of Russia’s food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, as saying.

EU announces aid to growers hit by Russian embargo. (125 million euros)

The European Commission on Aug. 18 announced a series of exceptional measures to help growers hit by a Russian ban on fruit and vegetable imports.
     
The products in question are in full harvesting season, with little hope of finding alternative markets to replace demand from Russia in time, the Commission said.
     
The 125 million euros ($170 million) of measures cover tomatoes, carrots, white cabbage, peppers, cauliflowers, cucumbers, as well as mushrooms, apples, pears, berries, grapes and kiwis, the EU's executive arm said.       

Russian food ban takes huge bite out of Greek fruit growing industry

Greek farmers say the Russian food embargo has already dealt a devastating blow to the country's agricultural economy, leaving at least 3.5 million kilogrammes of peaches rotting in refrigerated trucks after being turned back at the Russian border.
"There are around 3.5 million kilos of peaches currently rotting in trucks, and at the height of the summer another 3.5 million kilos have yet to be harvested," the Guardian quotes Apostolos Keranis head of the Federation of Greek truckers. "We're talking about huge, huge damage."
Russia buys more than 60 percent of Greek peach exports, and almost 90 percent of strawberries, says Christos Yannakakis, the president of Greece's largest regional association of growers and cooperatives.