The European Commission will allocate €200.9 million in 2020 to fund promotion activities for EU agri-food products at home and abroad. The 2020 promotion policy work programme adopted by the Commission outlines the main priorities for support. EU policy on the promotion of agri-food products is designed to help the sector take advantage of the expanding and increasingly dynamic global agri-food market, raise awareness on quality schemes including organic produce and help producers should they face market disturbances.
According to the press release of the European Commission, in 2020, more than half of the budget (€118 million) will go towards campaigns pursuing markets outside the EU with high-growth potential, such as Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United States. Eligible sectors include dairy and cheese, table olives and olive oil and wines. The selected campaigns are expected to enhance the competitiveness and consumption of EU agri-food products, raise their profile and increase their market share in these targeted countries.
Campaigns will also inform EU and global consumers of the various EU quality schemes and labels such as geographical indications or organic products. An additional focus of the campaigns will also be to highlight the high safety and quality standards, as well as the diversity and traditional aspects of EU agri-food products. Finally, within the EU, the focus will be on promoting healthy eating and increase, in the framework of balanced diets, the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The calls for proposals for the upcoming 2020 campaigns will be published in January 2020. A wide range of bodies, such as trade organisations, producer organisations and agri-food groups responsible for promotion activities are eligible to apply for funding and submit their proposals.
For 2020, €100 million is allocated to simple programmes, while €91.4 million will go towards multi-programmes.
An additional €9.5 million is set aside for the Commission’s own initiatives. Those include participation in fairs and communication campaigns, as well as diplomatic offensives led by the agriculture and rural development European Commissioner and accompanied by a business delegation. These initiatives will be further reinforced by an additional €17,2 million available from the 2019 multi-promotion programmes.
For further information: Annual Work Programme 2020