European apple producers should be looking outside of the EU for future trading growth rather than within their own borders.
That’s the view of South Tyrol MEP Herbert Dorfmann, who told an audience at Interpoma in Bolzano that the greatest chance of long-term profitability for farmers was to explore new markets further afield.
Countries such as Belarus, Nigeria and Myanmar have “huge potential” for the apple market, according to Dorfmann, who added that Mexico’s apple imports have risen 31 per cent and Taiwan’s by 64 per cent.
Dorfmann was speaking in the context of ongoing EU trade negotiations which could open up new markets, presenting both challenges and opportunities. With the Russian market expected to be restricted for some time, it is putting added impetus on efforts to find new destinations for EU fruit.
New EU trade deals are due to be agreed with Canada and Vietnam by April 2017, with the latter opening up a valuable new route into the lucrative south-east Asian market. “At present, Vietnam is very interesting for imports,” Dorfmann explained. “There is lots of purchasing power there at the moment.”
Conversely trade deals with South America could be problematic for European farmers. Bilateral agreements are already in place with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and the EU is negotiating with Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela), however those nations are much more likely to export their agricultural goods to Europe rather than import. “The Mercosur agreement is currently being debated in Brussels and it could have dangerous repercussions [for farmers],' he added.
The controversial TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) between the EU and US is facing increasing opposition in Brussels as it “doesn’t seem reasonable to continue”, Dorfmann said. Instead, Japan and south-east Asia might be a better replacement for the EU than a deal with the US.
“In the agri-food business we need to realise that demand will increasingly come from the rest of the world and we need to decide if we focus only on Europe or not,” Dorfmann concluded. “If we close in I think that is dangerous. We could say it’s ‘Europe first’, but if so we need to guarantee there is sufficient internal demand. I don’t think that’s the way to go to give farmers a good income.”
