The European Commission will consider boosting the availability of sugar at its next tonnage tender meeting on August 25 after sharp rises in prices and calls from food manufacturers for it to increase sugar quotas or abandon them.
The amount of packaging sent to landfill by EU-15 members dropped by 43 per cent in just over a decade thanks to soaring recovery and recycling rates, said the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (Europen).
The European Commission has defended its decision to release thousands of tonnes of sugar on to the market after accusations that the move would have a detrimental impact on the yeast industry.
European Commission measures to open a further 200,000 tonne import quota for raw or refined sugar at zero import duty and the possibility for further imports at reduced import duty via a tendering system have been backed by member states.
A European Commission initiative to release 500,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar onto the EU market has been backed by member states in the EU sugar management committee today.
Sugar supplier to the bakery and confectionery industry, Ragus, said it expects further commodity price hikes and contests whether proposed EC intervention on import duty tariff reductions would have the desired effect on the deficit in the EU market.
In a move to ease EU market pressures, the Commission has announced that it is to suspend import duties on low and medium quality wheat and barley from next week until the end of June.
The European Commission, in a policy about face, said it may open the import quota or allow the sale of out-of-quota sugar into the bloc - a move that would bring relief for bakers and other food makers set to negotiate new sugar contracts.
The leading traders of physical raw sugar claim that the commodity is likely to surge to a 30-year high in the coming months, with all eyes on the pending Indian sugar crop output which is hoped will ease supply pressures.
Estrella Maarud, the leading snack manufacturer in Northern Europe, has joined the EU advertising pledge that aims to promote healthier snacking choices and balanced lifestyles among children.
Wheat production on a global scale for the 2010-11 global crop has been revised upwards by two million tonnes to 660 million tonnes, according to the May report from the International Grains Council (IGC), which was less upbeat abou the EU harvest.
Increased yields of UK wheat varieties through the use of plant growth promoting root bacteria could render chemical fertilizers obsolete, if the preliminary results of a four-year, international study are substantiated.
Restrictions on guar gum imported from India into the EU have been revised on fears that the risk of dioxin contamination of the product remains too high.
The European cholesterol-lowering market presents many opportunities for food supplements and functional foods despite threats such as statin drugs and a tough new health claims regime, says Dr Robert Harwood, principal consultant at UK-based CPL Business...
A framework to ensure sustainability and quality of fish supplies was top of the agenda at the recent assembly of European fish processing industry association members (AIPCE).
The Chinese melamine contamination scandal has forced those in the bakery sector to think carefully about products which might contain any form of milk or protein, from biscuits and cake mixes to high-protein energy bars.
Imperfect as they may be, the European Union’s regulatory efforts in the food area have attracted the attention of regulators around the world, some of whom view what is being done in the bloc as a legislative template.
Real Good Food today reported a drop in profits for 2007, which the
UK-based firm blamed on ongoing EU sugar reforms as well as the
escalating price of raw ingredients.
Boosting innovation, improved processing techniques and
productivity, better access to foreign markets and raw materials,
and reducing the impact of safety legislation and retailer power,
are some of the issues the EU needs to address...
Milk and cheese products are more than twice as expensive in the
rest of the 27 European countries than in Eastern Europe,
according to a Eurostat report.
EU legislators yesterday voted in favour of proposals to introduce
a controversial five-stage hierarchy of priority for the bloc's
waste management policy.
EU plans to reduce tariffs on imports of aluminum into the bloc are
likely to have little affect on the regions metallic packagers,
says an industry expert.
Closures, restructuring. mergers and the offshoring of production
are continuing to change the profile of the EU's food manufacturing
sector, according to a report from an European Commission agency.
Further progress is urgently needed to improve the EU's
competitiveness in such areas as innovation, better regulation,
intellectual property rights and fair participation in global
markets, says an industry organisation.
EU broiler production in 2006 is forecast to be four per cent lower
than last year due to the outbreaks of avian influenza (AI), but
looks set to rebound in 2007, according to a new report.
Eastern Europe is spearheading growth in the packaging machinery
industry as new EU states attempt to muscle in on the Western
market, says a new report.
The current supply glut on the EU butter market will be solved by
more producers leaving the sector, says a Commission report, again
predicting a move away from commodities across the bloc.
Italy's bid to prop up its ailing poultry sector, hit by a drop in
demand due to avian influenza, may have gone too far, the European
Commission said yesterday.
Mounting overseas pressure on the EU to rework a draft EU law
requiring the registration and authorisation of chemicals could
foreshadow a battle that seems destined for lengthy arbitration
before the World Trade Organisation.
Armed with a report measuring the poor state of the industry's
competitiveness and innovation, the EU's food and drink industry
association hopes to keep the incoming president of the bloc on
track with its agenda to lower...
Agrana, which claims to be the leading sugar and starch producer in
Central and Eastern Europe, plans to expand its activities towards
the Western Balkans.
Legislation to harmonise vitamin and mineral fortification levels
across EU member states looks set to be adopted within weeks,
following this week's favourable vote by the European Parliament.
The European Commission has raised export subsidies available for
butter for the second month running, bowing to pressure from member
states concerned at volatile markets.
The European Commission's cuts to export subsidies for dairy
ingredients have survived a series of rows between Member States,
as tension grows on how the bloc can meet its commitments to the
World Trade Organisation talks.