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Coronavirus pandemic threatens to temporarily restrict world trade in agri-food commodities, including rice. Vietnam, the world's third-largest exporter of rice, and Kazakhstan, the world's ninth-largest exporter of wheat, reduced production exports to ensure the availability of food in their own country. In India, national restrictions on the movement of people over the past three weeks have also reduced rice production, because workers cannot come to work (more information here). In Africa, fruit and vegetable production slowed down, and many African countries are also faced with problems of securing their own exports in connection with cancelled flights or a sharp increase in air transport prices (more information here). UN chief economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Abdolreza Abbasian said that despite the shock in the supply chain, the basic food market remains stable. The increase in product prices is likely to be a response to some imports, but the impact on the market should be temporary.

Germany has approved a comprehensive legislative package aimed at reducing the effects of the spread of coronavirus on the economy and in particular to tackle the shortage of seasonal workers. The measure includes an additional budget of EUR 156 billion. The measure consists of eight points that facilitate the financial situation for food producers and create easier conditions for people working in the agricultural sector. The German Minister of Agriculture called on the Croatian Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković to take measures to support the agricultural and food sectors, stressing the need to maintain food stocks and to facilitate the transport of food.
More information is available here.

During the extraordinary plenary session, the European Parliament adopted almost unanimously the package of measures put to the vote in the context of the current Coronavirus crisis. The package included Specific measures to activate investment in Member States' healthcare systems and other sectors of their economies in response to the spread of COVID-19 (total € 37 billion from available EU resources for citizens, regions and Member States most affected by coronavirus; approved by 683 in favour, 1 against, 4 abstentions); Common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports (approved by 686 for, 2 abstentions); and Financial assistance to Member States and countries with accession to the Union which are seriously affected by a serious threat to public health (approved by 671 in favour, 3 against, 14 abstentions).
More information is available here, here and here.

Last week, the European Commission published a new updated Commission Work Plan for the coming weeks, proposing postponing the presentation of the two expected strategies, which were originally to be published on 25/03/2020. Both the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Biodiversity Strategy should now be submitted with a monthly delay on 29/04/2020, according to the latest information. The report on the impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy on biodiversity has also been postponed, and environmental NGOs have been required to publish it for several months. The Farm to Fork Strategy has already undergone an internal consultation within the European Commission, and the comments of the individual cabinets are now incorporated into the latest proposals. Europe's largest agricultural organization, Copa-Cogeca, stressed that the delays in the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy must not lead to further delays in discussing and approving the reform of the CAP beyond 2020.
More information is available here, here and here.

According to the unofficial Farm to Fork Strategy proposal of March 2020, the Commission is now shifting its attention to livestock production but could also set targets for reducing high-risk pesticides. The European Commission states in the proposal that European agriculture is responsible for 11% of the greenhouse gases produced in the EU, of which 11% account for most greenhouse gases from animal production (60% of the total 11%). In this context, the European Commission proposes to simplify the placing on the EU market of innovative feed additives, to strengthen the rules on the replacement of certain types of feed (moving away from soya from deforested areas), and to review the rules of EU promotion programs to enhance their contribution to sustainable production and consumption . The Commission also adds that the rules for the payment of coupled support should be reviewed in detail and adjusted to help strengthen the sustainability of the supported sectors. The Commission further states that it sets a percentage target (number is not yet known) to reduce the volume of pesticides in use and the risks associated with their use, and further states that it sets a percentage reduction target for high-risk pesticides by 2030. The Commission continues to set a percentage target for reducing the volume of fertilizers and antibiotics used by 2030, to strengthen animal welfare, including emphasis on rules on live animal transport and welfare labelling, and to introduce a percentage target for increasing the area of farmed land under organic farming.