Political group the Greens in the European Parliament are urging the European Commission to enforce tougher import rules on feed crops, saying that European markets are being undermined and domestic production has dropped because farmers can't compete with cheap imports.
Specifically, the group has asked the Commission to look at its trade ties with Latin America and the Mercosur trade bloc, which grow a large part of the protein plants use in European animal feed. Roughly 40 metric tons of feed crops are imported into the EU annually, accounting for 80% of the market, according to the Greens.
The Commission is in the midst of proposing changes to the Common Agricultural Policy that will take effect in 2014. According to Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş, sustainability and incentives to diversify croplands are at the heart of the CAP overhaul.
