January 26 2007, 08:46

The donations of EU vegetable producers and orchardists are suggested to be abridged

According to information provided by "RIA NEWS", the European Commission introduced to the EU members the proposal to reform European branch of fruit and vegetable production. Mrs. Marianne Fisher Bell, the EU Commissar of Agriculture, informed the journalists that the reform suggested by the European Commission presupposes the reduction of the donations from the EU budget to European fruit and vegetable producers. The executive branch of the EU proposes, in particular, to give up calculating the size of the financial aid proportionally to the total amount of the produce grown by a farmer. It is supposed to introduce the fixed donation payments instead.

This way European Commission intends to encourage European agrarians to grow fruits and vegetables in the volumes which suit the actual demand on market. The reform mainly concerns the interests of four major countries-producers of fruits and vegetables: Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. The Council of Ministers of EU and EU Parliament are the next to approve the legislation initiative of the European Commission.

According to information of "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal, the European Commission suggests the motivation which do not fully reflects the real situation in the produce industry of the European Union. According to the data of the periodical, the production of fruits and vegetables in the EU countries tends to decrease; the import of these products is constantly growing. The EU countries faced the severest deficit for vegetables in 2006; they also declined the fruit production down to the record low level. Also, this initiative is sure to dissatisfy Poland very much, as this country is the largest produce supplier in the European Union.

To the opinion of Andriy Yarmak, the Deputy Director of the Agricultural Marketing Project, the reduced support of the EU produce business can not but cheer up the farmers in Ukraine and Russia. The modern commercial fruit and vegetable production has only started to develop in Russia; meanwhile Ukraine managed to supply first large shipments of vegetables to the market of the EU countries this year. According to the forecast done by A. Yarmak, Ukraine will increase the fruit and berry production till the level which let the country export fruit and berry products to the EU and other countries.