EU farming organisations warn of threat to food supply as costs spiral
Many operators in the EU’s agri-food sector are struggling to maintain business in the face of rapidly rising input costs and extreme weather events, according to agri-food chain associations Copa-Cogeca, the Primary Food Processors (PFP) and FoodDrinkEurope.
In a statement, the associations said a combination of problems meant more and more companies in the EU agri-food chain are struggling to maintain their operations, with some companies faced with the choice of stopping production, laying off staff or going out of business.
“Over the past year, the European agri-food sector’s production costs have increased dramatically,” said the organisations’ statement. “Natural gas, electricity, fertilisers, transport fuel, packaging and external labour have all risen.
Cost increases were initially due to a post-Covid rebound in demand and supply chain constraints, but they have been severely exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These cost and inflationary pressures come in a context of extreme weather events – droughts, storms and frosts – that have already caused major impacts on the farming community and agri-food businesses.”
The latest increases in energy prices, especially natural gas and electricity, threaten the continuity of agri-food production cycles and therefore the ability to continue delivering essential agricultural commodities, food ingredient and products, and feed materials.
By Chloe Ryan / Poultry News
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