E-coli outbreak has cost farmers on the Continent €300m per week
Meanwhile, arable crop growers in several countries expect a 8% to 15% reduction in yield potential due to drought, which has also hit livestock farmers hard.
Copa-Cogeca, representing farmers and co-ops, wrote this week to EU Agriculture Commissioner Ciolos and Agriculture Council President Fazekas. Highlighting the fruit and vegetable and drought situations, they said all cucumbers grown in Germany last week were destroyed. Although the source of a bacterial outbreak that killed at least 25 may never be found, Russia banned all EU fruit and vegetables imports, and EU farmers were, at best, being paid well below production cost for their fruit and vegetables. According to Copa-Cogeca, cucumber prices fell last week to 5 cent compared to a five-year average of 21c. Tomatoes were 13c compared to 60c; lettuce 5c compared to 70c; and green and red peppers 50c compared to 120c. Stone fruit prices also fell.
Copa-Cogeca requested emergency measures, 100% financed by the EU budget, to avert a social crisis due to job losses, on top of the economic crisis for fruit-and-vegetable farmers and their co-ops.
Ciolos and Fazekas were also told the EU would enter the new-cereals marketing year without any grain stocks available, facing much reduced yields due to drought.
Farmers and co-ops said that fertiliser accounted for 40% of cereal production costs, and complained of unjustified fertiliser price increases.
They said constantly-rising animal feed costs and a shortage of fodder, due to drought, were forcing suckler herd-owners to sell their animals, and warned this would exacerbate difficulties by driving down beef-cattle prices.
Among the aid measures sought by Copa-Cogeca are permission to grow pasture and crops on set-aside, and dried-out permanent grassland when rainfall returns.
Grain yield losses are expected, principally in France, England, and Germany. In England, at least one dairy company’s milk supply is running below its daily budget, and farmers in the south and east estimate they will lose €450m worth of crop produce.
