UK Food Prices Highlighted In Agriculture Review

Rising food prices were underlined today as a review of European agricultural policies was welcomed.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has said the publication of proposals for the next stage of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a welcome move.

He said the CAP Health Check is a scheduled review of the major CAP reforms of 2003.

He said that the European Commission published the "CAP Health Check" proposals to launch six months of negotiations with the intention of concluding a deal by the end of the year.

"Good progress has been made in reforming the CAP in recent years, but much more is needed to boost farm competitiveness, protect the environment, improve value for money and address concerns about food prices.

"The UK is encouraging farmers to manage their land in a more environmentally beneficial way.

We want to see more funding diverted from production subsidies towards targeted measures which will improve our landscape and biodiversity. We will be encouraging other member states to follow our example and offer incentives to farmers to make environmental improvements."

"The Health Check must also phase out all the price support measures which have kept consumer prices high and the export subsidies which have undermined farmers in developing countries. And it must cut the bureaucracy and remove the market controls and production linked payments which have hampered the competitiveness of farmers, so they can respond to the growing global demand for food.

"We will now study the Commission's proposals carefully and negotiate for the Health Check to advance these aims."

The Health Check is an important step towards the Government's longer term vision for the CAP, published in 2005, which calls for the end of all direct farm payments by 2015 to 2020, leaving the CAP targeted at the protection of the environment.

(BMcC/JM)