The problem

Agricultural trade liberalisation in the Mediterranean region will have an impact on EU Member States. It is likely to lead to increased EU imports of fruits, vegetables and olive oil, while Union exports of cereals, meats and milk products from Europe to the non-Union Mediterranean countries will grow. Modelling can be used to examine some scenarios, but factors such as seasonality, customs rules and the sheer variety of produce make it difficult to estimate and describe the impact of increased fruit and vegetable imports.

Overview:

The project aims to estimate and describe the impact of agricultural trade liberalisation on Europe’s Mediterranean region.

Specific objectives include:

• characterising agricultural production, processing, distribution and retail systems in Mediterranean countries
• describing and quantifying EU and Mediterranean trade protection systems
• developing three liberalisation scenarios, from small changes to totally free trade
• using models to develop estimates of changes in production, imports and exports of agricultural goods.

Expert panels will help build an understanding of the impact that liberalisation will have on the fruit and vegetable trade.

Contribution to policy development:

• The project will help the EU to design compensation schemes for farmers and agricultural areas that are adversely affected by liberalisation.
• The project will be able offer estimates of how much compensation schemes would cost and how they would compensate for lost production and income.
• Knowing the potential impact of such changes will be useful when negotiating free trade agreements with Mediterranean countries.

Project deliverables

• characterising various food sectors in Europe and the Mediterranean region – June 2004-
  July 2005
• describing and quantifying protection measures for certain agricultural goods in the EU and various Mediterranean countries – March 2005
• expert panel analysis of production and export potential of agricultural goods in Mediterranean countries – October 2005-April 2006
• reporting on the impact of alternative trade liberalisation scenarios on Turkish and Moroccan agriculture – July-August 2006
• quantitative assessment of EU-Mediterranean trade liberalisation – September 2006

Dissemination

• regular distribution of press material, and publishing papers in major professional journals – as required
• developing and then updating project website to include results and progress reports – from July 2004
• conference to explain results of project – January 2007

Technical information

Project acronym: EU-MEDAGPOL
Project’s official full title: Impact of agricultural trade liberalisation between the EU and Mediterranean countries
Research priority: 1.1. Modernisation and sustainability of agriculture and forestry, including their multifunctional role in order to ensure the sustainable development and promotion of rural areas
Specific webpage: http://eumed-agpol.iamm.fr
Proposal/contract no: 502457
Start date: 1 March 2004
Kick off meeting: 18-19 March 2004
Completion date: 1 March 2007
European Commission scientific officer: Hans-Jörg Lutzeyer (hans-jorg.lutzeyer@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes/Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen
Abbreviated name: CIHEAM-IAMM
Address:
For CIHEAM: 11 Rue Newton - Paris 75116 - France
Tel: +33 1 53 23 91 00
Fax: +33 1 53 23 90 01
Website: www.ciheam.org

For IAMM: 3191 Route de Mende - 34093 Montpellier CEDEX 5 - France
Tel: +33 4 67 04 60 00
Fax: +33 4 67 54 25 27
Website: www.iamm.fr

Partners

Name: ENSA Montpellier
Abbreviated name: ENSAM
Country: France 

Name: INRA Nantes
Abbreviated name: INRA
Country: France

Name: IAP Bonn
Abbreviated name: IAP
Country: Germany

Name: CSIC Madrid
Abbreviated name: CSIS
Country: Spain

Name: METU Ankara
Abbreviated name: METU
Country: Turkey

Name: IAV Hassan II - Rabat
Abbreviated name: IAV
Country: Morocco

Name: Institut de l’Olivier Sfax
Abbreviated name: IO
Country: Tunisia

Name: CAES, Cairo University
Abbreviated name: UC
Country: Egypt