EC boosts funds for agricultural products promotion

In an additional move to support agricultural producers facing Russia’s embargo, the European Commission has announced it would provide an additional €30 million for the promotion of produce starting from 2015. The extra funds will add to usual annual budget of €60 million for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) promotion. “As these schemes are co-funded, this change is likely to mean an additional €60 million for promotion measures,” the EC’s statement said. “Promotion programs are one of the CAP instruments which can be used over the medium term to address the market difficulties expected in several sectors as a result of the Russian ban, helping producers to find new sales outlets within and outside the EU,” said Dacian Ciolos. EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development. In early August, Russia banned the import of agricultural produce from countries that imposed sanctions on it. The EC has already announced support for producers of peaches and nectarines (€33m) and of other perishable fruit and vegetables (€125m). It has also agreed on support for dairy producers.