Decoupling ‘to boost farm trade’

Paris: Increased decoupling should reduce distortions to international trade and help boost farm incomes, according to an OECD impact assessment on CAP reform published in Paris yesterday.

It said the reforms are an important step towards the decoupling of support to farmers so that the payments they receive are less dependent on what they produce. The OECD predicted there would only be a modest fall in production of the main commodities covered by the reform, although net exports are expected to decline more sharply.

It said the reform is expected to favour a more extensive use of land and a growth in pastures.