Damage to the Italian agricultural sector caused by the spread of the Asian Cimice and damage to the Italian agri-foodstuff deriving from the duties: these, among others, the subjects that on Italian proposal were discussed in the Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries gathered in Luxembourg.
The Asian bug, it has been reaffirmed, has mainly affected the regions of northern Italy, in particular the orchards, which have recorded huge production losses due to lack of harvest. A total of approximately 500 million euros in damage to the fruit and vegetable sector is estimated, including lost income and indirect damage.
Faced with this situation and considering the important role that producer organizations can play, Italy has asked the Commission to urgently assess any possible solution. In particular, under the CMO regulation no. 130872013, to guarantee producer organizations the necessary flexibility to adapt the tools available and to better safeguard the related financial resources in the operational programs.
In response to the Italian requests, Commissioner Hogan assured the Commission's full willingness to evaluate the requests that will be presented in the framework of the Market Organization for the fruit and vegetable sector.
When to US tariffs, a subject also discussed at the urging of Italy, Hogan said he was confident in the search for a negotiated solution, despite the limited time available, also because none of the parties would have an interest in starting a trade war. The proposal presented by the Commission to the US counterpart in July 2019 goes in this direction.
However, if it is not possible to reach agreement, the Commission is ready to activate appropriate measures, to protect the leading agribusiness products in Europe.
As regards Italian quality cheeses, the Commission has declared its full willingness to activate exceptional interventions such as private storage and specific measures to promote exports outside the EU, to which dedicated resources will be assigned.