News Green Deal
German farm foreman strongly criticizes politics
The chairman of the German Deutscher Bauernverband (DBV) Joachim Rukwied expressed strong criticism last week of the European and German plans for the agricultural sector. He made the statements during the presentation of the union's situation report.
According to Rukwied, the Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy need to be thoroughly revised. The European proposal to ban the use of plant protection products in vulnerable areas by half is a completely wrong signal, according to the farmer's foreman. This proposal will lead to drastic losses in domestic production and will make Europe heavily dependent on imports. Skimming off the revenues from renewable energy also turns out wrong, according to Rukwied. Such measures scare off farmers and banks. "For biogas alone, planned investments of around €1 billion have been halted. Instead of burdening farmers with false environmental regulations and taxes, they need a reliable basis for much-needed investments."
Stable food production
The operating results of the agricultural companies in Germany - where the presentation was actually about - have improved considerably in the 2021/22 financial year. Since the end of 2021, the prices of milk, most arable crops and beef have risen considerably. This situation has been exacerbated by the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia. Exceptions are pig farming and labour-intensive special crops, which are less prosperous. Still, Ruckwied is skeptical about the economic position of agricultural companies. "This recovery is urgently needed so that farmers can cope with increased market and climate risks. Fertilizers, energy, wages and other raw materials have become much more expensive or have limited availability. Producer prices are highly volatile. Maintaining stable food production in these uncertain times is a great challenge."
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
