News

On 17/08/2023, the European Commission adopted rules for the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) during its transitional phase, which runs from 01/10/2023 to 31/12/2025. During the transitional phase, traders will only have to report emissions contained in imports covered by the mechanism without paying for those emissions. This will give businesses and legislators time to prepare and possibly fine-tune the CBAM methodology by 2026. The European Commission has also provided guidance for EU and non-EU importers (here) to facilitate the implementation of the new rules.
More information is available here and here.

Australia's largest wine producer Australian Vintage plans to take a leading position in the global low and zero alcohol wine market in response to the growing demand for low and non-alcoholic alternatives to conventional alcoholic beverages. Australian Vintage is focused on progress and innovation in the sector, setting itself apart from other tradition-focused wine producers. The company's sales are already made up of 10% non-alcoholic and low-alcohol wine, but as part of its 'NoLo' program the company plans to develop further alternatives that are as identical in taste to conventional wine as possible.
More information is available here.

The Irish Government plans to achieve a 25% reduction in emissions by 2030, including through reducing emissions from the cattle sector. One of the proposed measures is the slaughter of up to 180,000 dairy cows, for which farmers would be compensated with EUR 5,000 per head. In addition, the Government is considering a further 8 measures aimed at reducing the number of dairy cows in Ireland by up to 65,000 per year as part of a scheme aimed at ending extended milk production. Specifically, these measures include a voluntary systematic culling of cattle from the herd for a specified period of time; a commitment to reduce the herd by a specified number of head; annual compensation for breeding ruminants provided by the Government in line with the stated and verified reduction in the herd; a ban on calving cows; a ban on transferring the holding to another person for a specified period of time; and the ban on starting breeding ruminants in the newly acquired enterprise. The Irish dairy sector representatives disagree with the measures and ask for alternative solutions to be put forward.
More information is available here.

On 07/08/2023, the European Commission launched a call for tenders for a framework contract for analytical services in the field of agriculture and CAP management, including cross-cutting analyses and syntheses. The objective of the call for tenders is to support the decision-making process in the field of agricultural and rural development policy, and a series of five-year framework contracts will therefore be awarded to provide timely, high-quality, independent and in-depth analyses to support the evaluation of the CAP and related instruments and tools, the assessment of future agricultural and rural policy initiatives, the implementation of agri-food sector analysis, and last but not least the assessment of the European and international context in which agricultural and rural policy operates. The analyses should consider economic, environmental, climatic and social impacts, covering primary production and other parts of the supply chain, processing, transport, storage and the interlinkages between food production and consumption. Proposals can be submitted until 14/11/2023 at 12:00.
More information is available here and here.

Sales of plant-based imitation food of animal origin are declining in a number of major markets, due to weakening consumer interest following the recent increase in inflation and the rise in the price of imitation. Since 2021, sales of imitations have declined in both value and volume. For example, sales of one of the largest imitation producers, Beyond Meat, have fallen by 30%. Other reasons for the declines are not only consumer dissatisfaction with the taste or texture of products, but also the unsatisfactory nutritional value of imitations and consumer overwhelm with brands. At its peak, the market offered imitation burgers from up to 49 different manufacturers and brands. Some of the producers are going out of business altogether (such as Tattooed Chief, which declared bankruptcy), while others are merging (such as Livekindly Collective with Alpha Foods, or Meatless Farm with Vegan Fried Chick*n. However, imitation producers believe that this is only a short-term trend, coupled with the fact that these are relatively new products.
More information is available here, here and here.