Germany-Court ruling on farm produce.

GERMANY-COURT RULING ON AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.

The German Constitutional Court has ruled that the

mandatory check-off system for agricultural commodities violates the German

constitution and is illegal, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture

attache report posted Tuesday on the Foreign Agricultural Services Web site.

The court ruled that the check-off program unfairly interferes with

entrepreneurial freedom and stated that the information gathering and

agricultural promotions are no longer a government task to be financed with

special duties. As a consequence of the ruling, the German agriculture and food

industries will either have to develop their own sector-related generic

promotion programs and information gathering and analysis or general

governmental funds will have to be provided to accomplish these efforts.