Agriculture

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is on a five-day official visit to the United States, has said that China and US should increase co-operation in science and technology, promote bilateral trade and strengthen information exchanges so as to further deepen agricultural collaboration.

The EU is reclaiming a combined €115.2 million from 20 member states after the nations’ non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure. 

Calls from UK Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the World Economic Forum for a more intimate trade relationship between the EU and the US may be a an appealing prospect, but any such deal in practice would have to overcome significant barriers.

On 8 February, the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF) agreed the new EU rules for organic wine production, which will apply from the 2012 harvest onwards. According to those rules, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term 'organic wine' on their labels.

The European Union's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will be reforming its mission by 2014 to emphasise the need to address issues of food security, climate change and the rural economy.