Agro-food cooperatives ask the European Commission for a shock plan to maintain rice cultivation

During the meeting of the Civil Dialogue Group held on June 21, Antonio Catón, director of the Herbaceous Crops department of Agri-Food Cooperatives of Spain, asked the European Commission for a shock plan for rice to address the main challenges facing the crop faces, such as the lack of legislation on active ingredients that is the same for all European producers and competition from third countries. The EU consumes more rice than it produces (1.32 Mt of white rice produced, compared to internal consumption of 2.4 Mt) which makes us net importers. Despite this situation, "rice in the EU is in a situation of vulnerability and uncertainty due to the lack of necessary tools, which makes European rice less competitive with imports from third countries, which also cultivate with environmental and social standards different from European ones," lament Cooperatives. All these circumstances, together with the drought that has occurred in recent years, as highlighted by Antonio Catón, ...