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Promoting EU farm produce – give us your ideas! - 15/07/2011
EU farmers produce top quality products, but better marketing could boost recognition – and sales – here and abroad.
The EU’s farmers make some of the best food in the world – the harvest of their know-how, tradition, innovation and high production standards.
But consumers here and overseas aren’t always aware of the care that goes into making quality food – grains, vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy, oils and other traditional farm products.
For example, EU farms meet stricter standards than their competitors – on food safety, the environment and animal welfare. These are some of the selling points that should make Europe's farm products stand out at local market stalls and supermarkets.
The Commission is convinced the EU could beef up promotion of EU produce to persuade more people to “buy European”.
Simplified rules and more cooperation among EU countries would help everyone in the industry promote agricultural products more widely and enter new markets.
This would also help:
- farmers to get a fair return that reflects the quality of their products – a focus on standards could encourage buyers to pay higher prices
- consumers to make informed choices when buying food – for example, through more promotion of the EU’s quality labelling system, care for animals and environmental standards
- buyers of agricultural produce (including the agri-food industry and retailers) to gain better knowledge of the wide range of products available to them
Before making proposals, the Commission wants opinions from farmers, retailers, exporters, consumers and others. These views will feed into plans for revising current marketing rules.
A discussion document 
presents background information and identifies areas where marketing could be improved. The consultation is open until 30 September 2011.
Between 2006 and 2010, the EU granted about €259m to co-fund 190 promotional programmes as part of its common agricultural policy (CAP).
