Presidents of the farm organisations and agri-cooperatives from across Europe united in Brussels to warn of the unprecedented crisis hitting EU agricultural markets & called on the EU for immediate solutions to tackle it.
Copa President Martin Merrild said: "The situation is not sustainable. Measures agreed by the EU to improve the situation have had little impact.
"The market – especially for beef, pork and dairy – is continuing to worsen, fueled by the Russian ban on EU farm exports. Pork prices are lower that they were eleven years ago.
"It is unacceptable that farmers are paying the price of the political dispute with Russia.
"Re-opening this market is a priority. Farmers & agri-cooperatives are also more exposed to market forces and they need access to market data so that they can plan ahead and hedge against risks".
He continued: "To make it worse, the EU Commission is moving ahead with opening up the EU market to imports from the Latin American Trade bloc Mercosur, which would have a catastrophic impact on the EU agricultural market, especially beef.
"These imports do not meet the EU’s high environmental and quality standards and there are still serious concerns about safety aspects of meat production in these countries and their use of antibiotic growth promoters which is banned in the EU.
"We want a level playing field. Imports to the EU must meet our high production standards. The EU must also step up action to find new markets and boost promotion measures for our produce.
"This crisis shows the importance of having a truly common agriculture policy.
"In the future, we need a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that is common in all member states and ensures our competitiveness as the current CAP is incapable of this.
"There’s something definitely wrong when the price of milk is lower than the price of water."
Importance of a well-developed food chain
Cogeca President Thomas Magnusson went on to underline the importance of getting the food chain working properly again so that farmers get a better return from the market and are not squeezed unfairly.
"The European Investment Bank (EIB) also needs to start delivering in order to develop the right financial instruments to help farmers invest in their businesses and improve competitiveness.
"Agri-cooperatives can help farmers get a better price for their produce and can assist them on new innovative techniques but they need the support to ensure this.
"Immediate solutions from the EU must be found to tackle this unprecedented crisis which has been hitting farmers and agri-cooperatives for years.
"They are vital not only to solve hunger and malnutrition but also to maintain attractive rural areas and biodiversity".
Copa & Cogeca are set to hold a workshop to start debating the future of the CAP in May.
