Europe’s farm leaders have urged the European Commission to build on the success of trade deals with Mexico, South Korea and Switzerland by “stepping up” its efforts to forge new deals with other countries.
“Farmers and their cooperatives are committed to finding new sources of growth, like in new export markets, but farmers must also reap the benefits of this in terms of increasing their market based revenue,” said Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General, Pekka Pesonen, commenting on the publication of a new study which shows the benefits of balanced trade agreements between the EU and non-EU countries on the agriculture sector.
However, Mr Pesonen also said that “efforts must be stepped up” by the EC in relation to other trade deals.
Copa President, Martin Merrild, made a similar point, stating that the new study confirmed that the EU agri-food sector is competitive on international markets under fair conditions, adding that farmers should be proud of the investment done at farm level to respond to market demand.
“The EU has been keen to use the full potential of these trade agreements,” he said. “And we encourage the EC to make the same effort when it comes to maximising the potential of implementing the trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA).”
See previous Pig World report on EC trade study
