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At the turn of August and September, Sweden confirmed the occurrence of African swine fever on its territory, so far only wild pigs have been affected. The outbreak was confirmed in an area approximately 145 kilometres west of Stockholm, in the risk area all pigs in domestic farms will be culled, approximately 50 animals. Following the confirmation of the infection, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Ukraine have already banned the import of Swedish pork. Sweden fears losses of up to €4.2 million a year due to trade restrictions. It is not yet known how the disease was introduced to Sweden, but it is expected to be a result of human activity, not the effects of wild pig migration.
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On 12/09/2023, during the plenary session, the European Parliament adopted a position on the protection of surface and groundwater from pollutants. The position was adopted by a vote ratio of 495 for, 12 against, 124 MEPs abstained. The goal of the rules should be to reduce groundwater and surface water pollution and improve water quality standards. MEPs call for EU lists of substances that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment to be regularly updated and for these lists to reflect new scientific knowledge and take new substances into account. Groups of specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics should also be added to the list. Stricter rules should be set for some pesticides including, for example, glyphosate and atrazine, and pharmaceuticals. Manufacturers who sell products containing polluting chemicals should, according to the Parliament's opinion, contribute to the costs of monitoring (currently paid by the Member States).
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In May 2023, the European Commission introduced extraordinary and temporary preventive measures regarding the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed oil and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. The ban on the import of these commodities, which affected PL, BG, RO, SK and HU, was the subject of lengthy negotiations during which the countries hoped to extend the safeguard measures. The Commission did not issue a decision on the further fate of the measure until 15/09/2023 in the afternoon, it did not extend the measure limiting the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed oil and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. According to the analysis of the European Commission, between May and September 2023, the market distortions in these five member states neighboring Ukraine in connection with Ukrainian commodities disappeared, therefore the measure was no longer needed. According to the Commission, however, Ukraine agreed to introduce legal measures, including, for example, an export licensing system, to prevent a sharp increase in grain exports to PL, SK, HU, BG and RO. The measures should be introduced within thirty days (but the protective measures ended with immediate effect), Ukraine should present the action plan as early as 18/09/2023. In response to the Commission's decision, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary decided to unilaterally extend the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine at the national level. Bulgaria, on the other hand, decided to allow imports.
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World food prices fell by 2.1% in August, falling 24% below their March 2022 peak, according to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) dated 08/09/2023. The decline in food prices reflects significant declines in the price indices of dairy products (-4.0% compared to July 2023), vegetable oils (-3.1%), meat (-3.0%) and cereals (-0.7%), specifically wheat (-3.8%). The price of sugar has risen by 1.3% over the past month, i.e., it is 34.1% higher than in August 2022. The increase in the price was mainly caused by increased concerns about the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon on global production and the expected reduced sugarcane harvest due to the drought in India and Thailand.
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Spain will try to reach a general approach in the Council on the European Commission's legislative proposal on new genomic techniques (NGTs) under the Spanish Presidency by the end of this year. This was stated by Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas after last week's informal meeting of the EU Council of Ministers in Córdoba (ES). Planas and Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski agreed that the Council's position on the proposal so far is similar to that of the Commission, but questions remain over the negative impact of the legislative proposal on organic farming and the dependence on plant patenting.
More information is available here, here, here and here.