‘Enjoy, it’s from Europe’: Brussels announces fresh agri-food promotion plan

The European Commission presented its annual working plan to help agri-food producers promote their products in the EU and abroad, with a focus on sustainability, quality, animal welfare, and healthy eating habits.

Read the original French article here.

The 2023 policy for the promotion of EU agri-food products will grant €185.9 million to interprofessional organisations across the EU to fund promotional campaigns in and outside the EU to help boost exports.

“Promoting European agri-food products and their quality, in the EU and worldwide, is an important dimension of the Commission’s support to farmers and producers,” said Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

Under the slogan “Enjoy, it’s from Europe”, these campaigns aim to increase the visibility of EU products and highlight the efforts of farmers in producing quality food. All sectors, except tobacco, are eligible for EU subsidies.

“Our promotion policy helps them to find new markets and spread the reputation of their products,” he added.

Sustainability and animal welfare 

According to the Commission’s plan, the aim is to open new markets all the while helping the agri-food sector at a time when production costs are constantly rising.

It is also about promoting products “in line with objectives such as the sustainability of EU agriculture, the promotion of animal welfare and the promotion of the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as of healthy and sustainable diets”, in line with the flagship Farm to Fork strategy for 2019-2024.

Based on what was already decided in 2022, the promotional policy will encourage a shift to more plant-based diets.

Promotional campaigns are also a means of showcasing the various EU labels such as organic ones or those indicating the country of origin.

“We are partially satisfied,” said EU lawmaker and rapporteur of the forthcoming reform of the promotion policy Salvatore De Meo, a member of the European Parliament’s committee on agriculture and rural development.

The budget dropped from €191.6 million in 2019 to €185.9 million in 2022 and 2023.

In reference to other flagship projects like the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy, De Meo warned that they should “not penalise the agri-food system and reduce its production capacity, as this would increase our food dependence on third countries”.

Projects should be assessed and approved solely on the basis of their merit and no product should face discrimination, he added.

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Strong growth potential

For 2023, the subsidies for the promotional campaigns will be more or less evenly divided with €83.3 million and €83.1 million respectively going to campaigns targeting products marketed in the EU, and outside of it.

For example, one of the latest campaigns, dubbed More than Food India, allowed EU companies to lead promotional campaigns in 2021 and 2022 to carry out promotional activities with local companies and on local social media for better outreach.

Among the products promoted in India to increase demand for them, there were Czech apples (Topaz), Slovak sauerkraut (PGI) and Morteau sausages (PGI).

Next year, the Commission intends to target countries and regions with “high growth potential”, such as China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, but also North America, New Zealand and Australia.

The same is true for the UK, which is “one of the main export markets for EU agri-food products, accounting for 25% of EU-27 exports.”

A call for proposals to receive the 2023 funding will be launched on 19 January.

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[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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