EU farm commissioner Marian Fischer Boel has spoken out on the issue of rising food prices.
Here's a taste of what she said:
Of course, in this whole debate about food prices, we cannot lose sight of the effect on consumers. It hurts consumers in their pockets when food prices go up.Here, I will say only this: the increases in supermarket milk prices in some Member States are definitely not warranted by the overall market supply situation in the EU. And, as we all know, the contribution of the raw material to the final price of foods like bread is relatively small, so I hope that the supermarkets and discounters will act responsibly.
Concerns have also been raised that livestock producers face much higher feed prices in the short to medium term. Certainly, this is a concern that I share. Having said that, pig and poultry producers all over the world are affected by high cereal prices, even in low cost competitors like Brazil.
This will lead to adjustments in world meat prices. So I hope that the global competitiveness of European farmers should not be overly affected by the current situation.
Finally, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, I hope European consumers will put their money where their mouth is and be prepared to pay a little bit more for EU produce.
Where we win out every time is in quality and in the attention we pay to animal welfare and the environment. That is something well worth paying for.
You can read the rest of her thoughts on her blog.