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The European Commission has today launched the calls for proposals for programmes to promote European agricultural products throughout the world and within the EU.

A total of €191.6 million was allocated to promotion programmes in 2019, including €181.6 million for the co-financing of the programmes and another €10 million in case of market disturbance, up from €179 million in 2018. Programmes can cover a wide range of issues from general campaigns on healthy eating to specific market sectors.

EU agri-food exports values for October 2018 were the highest ever recorded.

Bulgaria is the largest producer of herbs and spices in the European Union. According to Eurostat, in the year 2017, a total of 81,000 tons of aromatic and medicinal plants and spices were grown in the country. The quantity of Bulgarian herbs is almost double to the second largest producer of herbs in the EU - Poland, where 44,000 tons were harvested. Spain ranks third with 32.000 tons.

Bulgaria is one of the largest producers of sunflower seeds. The country ranks second with close to 2.1 million tonnes and is ahead of Hungary. The first is Romania with 2.9 million tons.

The Common agricultural policy (CAP) is increasingly market oriented, leading to an increase in EU competitiveness and trade performance. Supporting around 7 million beneficiaries, the CAP is also contributing to reducing poverty rates in rural areas. These were among the findings of the first assessment of the CAP’s performance published on 05 December 2018, by the European Commission.

Poultry is the only meat that will see a strong increase in EU production and consumption while demand for traditional dairy products such as cheese should continue to grow. These are just a few of the projections from the European Union agricultural outlook for 2018-2030 report (9.1 MB - PDF) published on 6 December 2018 by the European Commission.

The EU Agricultural Outlook conference, which this year has the title “The future of food and farming: food for thought”, has become the key annual gathering of European policymakers and stakeholders, providing a unique opportunity to engage and discuss the future of agriculture in Europe and the challenges which lie ahead.

The AgroCycle project will help develop sustainable green businesses and jobs

There is an urgent need and a huge opportunity to address the effective use of agricultural waste.

AgroCycle is a ca. €8 million (ca. €7 million from the European Commission, ca. €1 million from the Government of The People’s Republic of China) Horizon 2020 research and innovation project addressing the recycling and valorisation of waste from the agri-food sector.

The European Commission will provide funding of €172,5 million from the EU agricultural budget to promote EU agri-food products in Europe and across the world.

79 campaigns, covering a wide range of products such as dairy products, olives and olive oil, and fruit and vegetables, will be rolled out over the next three years.  

The EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme resumes with the school year in the participating EU countries.

Aimed at promoting healthy eating habits among children, the EU school scheme includes the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk products, as well as dedicated educational programmes to teach pupils about the importance of good nutrition and to explain how food is produced.