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In the nineteen eurozone countries, consumer prices rose by 10.6% in October 2022 due to rising food and energy costs due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), on 25/11/2022 at the meeting of the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels, pointed out the projection of high energy costs at the wholesale level into the retail network, which may cause a further increase in inflation. The ECB has decided to reduce inflation with a series of rate hikes and has raised its key interest rates by 2% points since July. The ECB is raising interest rates at the fastest rate on record, and further hikes are likely to be needed to bring inflation back to the ECB's target of 2%.
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On 29/11/2022, the European Commission published the latest monthly report on trade in agri-food products. Both EU exports and imports increased in August 2022, reaching the highest monthly value of 2022 at €35 billion. Compared to July 2022, EU exports increased by 6%, imports by 3%. The highest exports in August were cereal products (€1.7 billion), wheat (€1.6 billion) and wine (€1.4 billion). The most important EU countries for exports were the United Kingdom, the United States and China. In August 2022, the EU imported mainly from Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Imports from Ukraine to the EU increased by 19% compared to July, mainly due to increased imports of rapeseed (+469%) and wheat (+246%) in value terms. Total EU imports from January to August 2022 reached €110.9 billion, representing 85% of annual imports in 2021. India is one of the EU's largest trading partners. The EU imports more agri-food products from India than it exports. The highest is the import of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices with a value of €521 million.
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Ministers of Agriculture met at the Council of Ministers on 21/11/2022 to discuss several issues, including the EU's forestry strategy until 2030, the issue of fertilizers, European nature conservation goals and other European support for algae production. Regarding the EU forestry strategy until 2030, ministers discussed the progress made so far and the measures that could be taken to strengthen the effectiveness of the strategy both at national and EU level. Representatives of the European Commission have confirmed that a new legislative initiative related to forest monitoring, falling under the European Forestry Strategy to 2030, will probably be presented in the second quarter of 2023. On this issue, the European Commission also plans to launch a public consultation (in the coming weeks) and organize four workshops for stakeholders. In addition, the Commission plans to finalize three sets of guidelines on nature-based forest management, mapping of old-growth and primary forests, and biodiversity-friendly afforestation. Ministers called on the European Commission for better coordination between the Commission and Member States in the development of targets and for a harmonized approach to measures taken at national level to avoid fragmentation of rules. In the area of fertilizers, the Member States supported the Commission's Communication, but called for more concrete measures to be put forward to help farmers. Regarding the nature conservation objectives, ministers expressed concerns regarding the financial cost of implementing the rules, the administrative burden and the impact on food security. On the question of supporting algae production in the EU, ministers took a positive approach, but said that many types of algae are covered by the Union's novel food legislation, which involves high costs and lengthy procedures. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, also informed the ministers about the conclusions of the high-level conference on the bioeconomy, which took place on 06/11-7/11/2022 in Brussels. He called on EU Member States to continue supporting the fulfilment of the potential of the bioeconomy across all relevant EU policies and emphasized that the Bioeconomy Strategy transforms climate and environmental challenges into opportunities and is at the same time the main tool for revitalizing rural areas, creating more innovative jobs, contributing to generational renewal and combating depopulation in rural areas.

On 23/11/2022, the European Parliament approved a resolution on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and better care for patients with diabetes. In the provisions, the European Parliament also addresses the issue of food consumption. Parliament supported the adoption of mandatory and harmonized front-of-pack nutrition labelling, which should, however, be designed based on sound and independent scientific evidence; also supported fiscal measures to make fresh food (including fruits, vegetables, legumes, pulses and whole grains) more affordable and accessible at the national level, especially for low-income consumers. In the provision, Parliament encourages member states to use pricing policies, including, for example, tax differentiation in the case of value added tax and marketing controls to influence demand for foods and beverages low in saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, salt and sugar.
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On 23/11/2022, the European Commission published an evaluation support study of the EU school fruit, vegetable and milk scheme. The project supports the distribution of the mentioned foods to pupils from kindergarten to high school, as well as educational programs. The European Commission concluded in the report that the proportion of children receiving fruit, vegetables and milk (dairy products) increased from 40.2% in 2017-2018 to 54.6% in 2020-2021. The report also states that the current program fulfils its main goals, which are to increase the consumption of selected agricultural products among children and improve their eating habits. However, the implementation of the project was significantly affected by the covid pandemic.
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