European Commission provides €172m to promote EU agri-food products

The European Commission has agreed to provide €172.5m in funding to promote EU agri-food products in European and global markets.

Of the total funding, €97m has been set aside for simple promotion programmes submitted by one or more proposing organisations from the same Member State.

The remaining €75.5m will fund multi programmes, submitted by a minimum of two proposing organisations from at least two Member States or one or more European organisations.

EU agriculture and rural development commissioner Phil Hogan said: “Europe is known around the world for its good quality food products and its culinary heritage. EU producers can count on the support of the EU Commission to help spread the word in Europe and beyond about their high-quality products.

“I have been travelling myself to several countries around the world, like China, Japan, Mexico or Colombia to open new markets for our products. There is great potential ahead of us.”

The European Commission plans to organise 79 campaigns over the next three years and promote a wide range of food products, including dairy, olive oil, fruit and vegetables.

Out of the total programmes, 48 will be targeting non-EU countries.

In non-EU countries, 23 programmes are committed to the fruit and vegetable sector, while other sectors include cheese and dairy products.

The programmes will be designed to help the EU’s agri-food producers promote and communicate about the quality of their products, as well as focus on entering new markets.