EU supports markets on three-year meat drive
The scheme, which also covers fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, dairy products, oil, seeds, wine, PGIs (Protected Geographical Indications) and PDOs (Protected Designations of Origin), announced that 20 projects have been awarded specific funding. The scheme, which focuses on quality, food safety and hygiene, nutrition, animal welfare and environmentally-friendly production methods, will cost a total of €70.7m, with 50% of each project being contributed by the EU, with the remainder met by the proposing organisation or member states.
The Danish Agriculture & Food Council (DAFC) will receive €3.4m to promote beef, veal and pigmeat to China over the three-year project, while the Polish Beef Cattle Breeders Association (PZPBM) is promoting beef within Poland, following a sharp decline in beef consumption in Poland over the last five years. It will receive around €825,000 from the EU to concentrate on its Quality Meat Program (QMP).
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the Scottish red meat levy body has been awarded €2.5m to promote its PGI red meat labels, Scotch Beef and Scotch lamb to eight European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. Uel Morton, chief executive of QMS said that while the specific export priorities had been identified as part of a new export strategy, the promotional activities in the domestic market would remain the main focus and account for half of the project’s budget.
QMS is planning five marketing activities within both the domestic and its EU target markets, including design, production and distribution of point-of-sale material, as well as extensive advertising, events and public relations campaign. The programme is due to start in October 2012.
