The European Union (EU) aims to increase the volume of oilseeds – including soyabeans – sourced from within the 27-nation bloc, to reduce its dependency on imports from top suppliers like the USA and Brazil, Transport Topics wrote, citing a 7 July Bloomberg report.
As part of that drive, the European Commission (EC) – the bloc’s executive arm – is aiming for 35% of oilseeds and protein crops used in animal feed to be EU-grown by 2035. That compares with 25% sourced domestically last year, according to the bloc’s livestock strategy and protein plan published on 7 July.
Although Europe is one the world’s biggest suppliers of food products - such as grains, dairy, pork and olive oil - its livestock industry is heavily dependent on imports of protein crops, making the region vulnerable to supply disruptions, according to the report.
Meanwhile, EU citizens had raised concerns about deforestation in places like Brazil, with farmers staging protests in recent years against a trade deal with the Mercosur countries, including Brazil and Argentina, the report said.
The EU was also seeking to diversify its imports away from the Americas, with increased shipments from Ukraine one way of achieving this, according to an EC official.
Ukraine, which benefits from preferential trade rules, formally began the first stage of membership talks with the bloc in June.
The bloc will also look to use trade negotiations to boost Europe’s agriculture sector and enforce EU food safety standards, according to a previous Bloomberg report.
The EU livestock industry generates €400bn (US$457bn) in annual turnover and employs around 7M people across Europe, according to the report.
