June 6, 2022

 

Global feed market in tough spot following war in Ukraine, says FEFAC

 

  

The global animal feed market is in a difficult situation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and especially with the Black Sea region, a major grain and oilseed exporting region, being cut off as a result of the war, said FEFAC president Asbjørn Børsting.

 

Børsting expressed his view during the 66th FEFAC Public Annual meeting on June 2, during the VICTAM/VIV Europe Expo in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

 

FEFAC members remain fully committed to delivering on its commitments to sustainable food systems as part of its Feed Sustainability Charter 2030, the organisation said.

 

During the event, Nevedi board member Bastiaan van Tilburg said: "The Dutch feed industry will continue to invest in new innovative, climate-smart animal nutrition solutions. This will allow our farmer customers in and outside the Netherlands to meet the new societal objectives for a more sustainable and animal welfare-friendly livestock and aquaculture sector."

 

DG AGRI director general Wolfgang Burtscher gave the keynote speech, presenting the range of crisis measures that the European Commission developed recently to help assure food and feed security in Ukraine, the European Union and at a global level.

 

He referred to the recent decision on Solidarity Lanes to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine and the possibility to grow crops in Ecological Focus Areas in 2022 and possibly also in 2023.

 

Burtscher thanked FEFAC for the engagement to help tackle the logistical challenges caused primarily by the inaccessibility of Ukrainian sea ports. He highlighted that the renewed discussions on food security will go hand in hand with the EU Green Deal agenda and Farm to Fork Strategy.

 

He pointed the need to tackle sustainability challenges for agriculture such as climate change and biodiversity. He stressed the EU's priority to secure an "open strategic autonomy", opposing any export restrictions.

 

In the first panel session, panellists Guido Landheer, Dutch Farm Ministry Deputy Director-General; Børsting; Nick Major, GFLI chair; Marije Klever, chair of the Dutch Young Farmers Association (NAJK); and Henk Flipsen, Nevedi director, discussed the impact on EU feed sector resilience and EU Green Deal targets for the livestock sector together with Burtscher.

 

In an effort to facilitate more sustainable food systems, they focused on boosting innovation in feed production, such as grass bio-refining and circular feed' options deemed safe but currently not authorised. They agreed on the need to provide sufficient resources and time to farmers, allowing them to invest in the green transition.

 

The second panel was introduced by a video statement from Rasmus Prehn, Denmark’s Minister for Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, who highlighted his country's support for the introduction of due diligence and traceability requirements in the European Commission's proposal for deforestation-free supply chains.

 

Prehn stated the importance of industry initiatives such as the FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines 2021 to guide companies in the sourcing of more responsible soy, while recommending the further strengthening of independent verification systems.

 

Panellists Heleen van den Hombergh, coordinator of the Collaborative Soy Initiative and Dutch Soy Platform; Guilherme do Couto Justo, IDH Soy programme manager; Jim Sutter, chief executive officer of the US Soybean Export Council; Wei Peng pf Soft Commodities Forum (LDC group); and Nicolas Coudry-Mesny, FEFAC vice-president; pointed to practical challenges and unintended consequences of the European Commission proposal for deforestation-free supply chains. They referred to the current proposal on strict farm plot based traceability which would translate into dedicated, segregated soy supply chains requiring huge investments in infrastructure with no benefit for halting deforestation, as "risky products" will be diverted to other markets.

 

The panellists also called for more practically feasible, effective and less costly supply chain solutions which, for example, rely on a form of mass traceability. Additionally, they highlighted limited European market share of annual soy usage (approximately 10% of global soy production).

 

 - FEFAC