November 27, 2013
The European Commission has proposed increasing its international market spending to support the export of its agricultural and agri-food sector products, while the US Congress continues to debate budget cuts.
The slogan for the proposed expanded export initiative "Enjoy, it's from Europe," aims to help the sector's professionals break into international markets and make consumers more aware of the efforts made by European farmers to provide quality products, based on a genuine strategy established at European level, according to EU media reports.
The proposal, which will be submitted to the European Parliament for its review, will boost European aid for agricultural exports progressively from US$82.5 million in the 2013 budget to US$270.5 million in 2020.
"In a world in which consumers are increasingly aware of the safety, quality and sustainability of food production methods, European farmers and small- or medium-sized enterprises are in a position of strength," said the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Ciolos.
Mark Jagels, chairman of the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and a fourth-generation farmer from south-central Nebraska said, "With 96% of the world's population living outside our borders, we need to focus our energy and resources on putting US meat and other agricultural products on the world's tables. If we don't, our competitors in the EU and around the world will gladly take that business off our hands."
Jagels noted that the benefits of supporting US agricultural exports are well-documented.
"US agricultural exports, which topped US$141 billion in value in fiscal year 2012, support nearly 1.2 million American jobs," said Jagels. "They accounted for a US$38.5 billion surplus in the balance of trade for the year – one of the few bright spots in our economy."
A recent study conducted for USDA reported that the investment of USDA and checkoff funds in USMEF programmes over the prior 10 years returned an average of US$7.42 in net revenue to the US pork industry and US$3.87 to the beef industry per dollar invested.
