Drought is a cereal killer

The European Commission has confirmed a big plunge in EU cereal production and says it will be 8% down on the average of the past five years as a result of this year’s drought.

It puts total production at 284 million tonnes, 5% down on the 2017 figure. The wheat harvest has suffered most, falling by 9% in 2017 to 129 million tonnes. The drought stalled an expected increase in milk production, which rose by just 0.6% but triggered a rise in beef production by 1.6%, thanks to cows being culled and sold early because of a looming fodder shortage.

The EU is on course to have tough new legislation next year to outlaw unfair trading practices by big retailers. The European parliament, national ministers and the Commission are all on course to agree the detail, possibly in December.

This would be a big victory for the farm commissioner, Phil Hogan, who has made the case for farmers to enjoy fairer treatment. The legislation will outlaw late payments, last minute order cancellations and retrospective changes to contracts. Also banned would be arrangements where suppliers pay for unsold perishable products.

This would put the EU on a par with or beyond the Grocery Code Adjudicator in the UK.

There is much talk that what has been dubbed Canada plus, or even plusplus could be the basis for a trade deal between the UK and EU-27 after Brexit. This would be based on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) which allows free or reduced tariff trade between the EU and Canada for a number of products. Despite the focus on this in the Conservative party this is a limited deal, based around agreement between two countries with limited trade connections. It would not end customs checks or red tape. The issue of farming and food standards could mean the UK complying with all EU rules. Canada this week signed a bigger agreement with the United States and Mexico to restore much of what was lost when the Trump administration ended the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The EU is on course to have tough new legislation to outlaw unfair trading practices by big retailers which could put it beyond the Grocery Code Adjudicator in the UK.