Background Retail
Agri-food trade almost forgotten in Farm to Fork
The European Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy may be clear for producers and consumers, but not exactly for the agri-food trade. It has numerous questions about how to deal with questions about stricter standards, sustainability, new standards and the like in logistics chains, questions that seem to be partly overlooked in the European Commission's F2F strategy. Solutions are being worked on, but in many areas there is certainly no clarity yet.
This was discussed at the annual meeting of the CELCAA, the umbrella organization of the European agri-food trade, in Uddel. Marcel van der Vliet, chairman of the Celcaa, emphasizes the importance of clarity, in the interest of the consumer and in the interest of the business community throughout the entire chain. "With sustainability, we should not forget the earning capacity of the chains as a whole."
Import
One of the most important points for the agri-food trade is how to deal with products from outside Europe. The European Union (EU) can issue all kinds of standards and requirements, but consumers do not only want European products and Brussels has limited control outside the European territory. Nevertheless, the EU also wants products from outside to comply with European sustainability standards. Question is how to do that? And: how should trade move in that field of tension?
Own and other interests
According to a spokesman for DG Agri of the European Commission, the rules of the World Trade Organization WTO allow additional rules to be imposed on the quality and sustainability of products, but this must of course be agreed with other trading partners. In practice, this means that further negotiations with the US and China, among others, still have to take place. The bottom line is that in practice it will be some time before the EU can set the same standards for imported products as for products from its own territory.
Other trading blocs will not easily give up their own interests. This is clearly visible in the group of countries that have to deal with the European anti-deforestation policy. Large palm oil producers such as Indonesia and Thailand are fully engaged in limiting the adverse economic consequences for them. Sometimes by looking for loopholes, sometimes by going to the WTO and challenging European rules. Companies themselves can, incidentally, set more far-reaching (sustainability) requirements without hindrance, but often have to pay extra for this.
Wishes and possibilities
The agri-food trade has to determine its position time and time again in this changing field of forces. In addition, it also has to deal with changing consumer preferences, changing production patterns (partly due to climate change) and questions about the availability of raw materials. Not everything is available everywhere and/or affordable, even if politicians would like it to be otherwise.
Klaas van der Horst
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