Fischer Boel promotes European food and drink on Chinese market
By 2009-5-26 10:08:30
THE quality and diversity of European food and drink is being promoted in China this week by Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.
She is accompanied by a delegation of 11 executives from food and drink companies from across the EU representing an annual turnover of around €27 billion.
Ms Fischer Boel, writing in her internet blog, said China is the hungry dragon of the 21st century. With a population of 1.3 billion it has a lot of mouths to feed. Over the last 24 years, that figure has increased by 250 million, which is half the population of the EU.
As more Chinese move to the cities and have more money in their pockets, appetites are growing for the kinds of high-value products that the EU excels at producing.
She said European food and drink products have a well-deserved international reputation for their quality. The EU¡¯s agricultural trade to China grew by 82% over the last four years. "We continue to see enormous potential on this market for our producers to tap into growing demand for high quality and traditional European food and drink with the very best food safety standards."
Ms Fischer Boel said, whenever she participates in conferences and seminars, she always try to go and visit local farms, food businesses or rural development projects.
"For me, no one can explain better the consequences of our policies than the people who deal with them daily and whose livelihood depends upon them.
"This was the case with my visit to Salzburg, Austria last week. I went there to participate in a conference on food security and climate change. However, the trip also gave me a opportunity to visit an organic dairy farmer in Bergheim. The farmer gave me a very good account of the challenges he faces ¨C notably, dramatically low milk prices ¨C 30 cent per litre of organic milk. That does not even cover the production costs."
"This is a very good example of the pressure European dairy farmers are facing at the moment. It is not sustainable in the long run. And that is why I have not hesitated to reactivate aid for private storage, intervention for butter and milk powder and export refunds where it is possible," she said.
She is accompanied by a delegation of 11 executives from food and drink companies from across the EU representing an annual turnover of around €27 billion.
Ms Fischer Boel, writing in her internet blog, said China is the hungry dragon of the 21st century. With a population of 1.3 billion it has a lot of mouths to feed. Over the last 24 years, that figure has increased by 250 million, which is half the population of the EU.
As more Chinese move to the cities and have more money in their pockets, appetites are growing for the kinds of high-value products that the EU excels at producing.
She said European food and drink products have a well-deserved international reputation for their quality. The EU¡¯s agricultural trade to China grew by 82% over the last four years. "We continue to see enormous potential on this market for our producers to tap into growing demand for high quality and traditional European food and drink with the very best food safety standards."
Ms Fischer Boel said, whenever she participates in conferences and seminars, she always try to go and visit local farms, food businesses or rural development projects.
"For me, no one can explain better the consequences of our policies than the people who deal with them daily and whose livelihood depends upon them.
"This was the case with my visit to Salzburg, Austria last week. I went there to participate in a conference on food security and climate change. However, the trip also gave me a opportunity to visit an organic dairy farmer in Bergheim. The farmer gave me a very good account of the challenges he faces ¨C notably, dramatically low milk prices ¨C 30 cent per litre of organic milk. That does not even cover the production costs."
"This is a very good example of the pressure European dairy farmers are facing at the moment. It is not sustainable in the long run. And that is why I have not hesitated to reactivate aid for private storage, intervention for butter and milk powder and export refunds where it is possible," she said.
From www.freshplaza.com