Issues of food security, problems and prospects of cooperation were discussed by the heads of authorized bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union and relevant ministers of the Eurasian Economic Commission at the third meeting of the Council on Agro-Industrial Policy of the Union.
The parties agreed to continue joint work on monitoring the provision of agricultural products and foodstuffs, as well as to create joint indicative balances of supply and demand.
The participants of the meeting have underlined the importance of the work of the Commission and the countries on development and deepening of the integration in the sphere of agriculture, documents on conducting coordinated agro-industrial policy, being adopted on the level of the Union, and also effectiveness of the work group on issues of prompt delivery of agricultural goods between the Union states, created by the order of the Board in 2021.
The meeting also considered the issue of providing the agricultural sector with material and technical resources, which largely determines the sustainability of agriculture in conditions of high turbulence in the global food market.
At present, the Union market is imported from third countries significant amounts of seeds and planting material, pedigree products, veterinary drugs, agricultural machinery and equipment.
There is still a high dependence on import of seeds for such important crops as corn, sunflower, sugar beet and vegetables. In cattle breeding in the countries of the Union there is an insufficient level of self-sufficiency in breeding products of chickens.
“The Commission can act as a coordinator for solving the issues of material and technical supply of the sector, preparing effective mechanisms for effective interaction and implementation of joint cooperation projects together with the member states,” said Artak Kamalyan, Minister of Industry and Agro-Industrial Complex of the EEC.
The urgent directions for improvement of resource provision were acknowledged to be barrier-free trade in agricultural plant seeds and pedigree products within the Union, joint measures for production of selection genetic materials, implementation of import-substituting and high-tech projects, technological cooperation in agriculture.
Council members also paid special attention to discussing the issue of ensuring epizootic welfare for FMD in the EAEU countries. Victor Nazarenko, Minister of Technical Regulation, noted problematic issues of interaction between member states to ensure veterinary safety in the customs territory of the Union for FMD.
The parties agreed that the authorized veterinary authorities of the Union countries will ensure closer cooperation in prevention and diagnosis of foot and mouth disease.
Source: EEC website
