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agriculture | farmers | food

Flower industry may wilt if EPA deadline is missed
20-Sep-2007 AllAfrica.com
Kenya faces tariff increases of between two and 24 percent on its exports to the European Union if it fails to conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU by the end of the year.
Korea-EU FTA: Delegates need to maintain unitary stance for negotiations
20-Sep-2007 Korea Times
A sudden influx of European pork will lead to Korea’s livestock industry crumbling.
The perils of free trade in agriculture
20-Sep-2007 Mail & Guardian
It’s the kind of unfair situation that makes poorer nations wonder where the payoff is with free trade: demand for coffee, tea, cocoa, cotton and sugar — which is what many such countries have to offer the world — has risen. Prices paid in the supermarket have risen. Yet the share paid to the farmers who grow these basic agricultural commodities has fallen.
Some Gambian farmers oppose EPAs
18-Sep-2007 AllAfrica.com
Some commercial farmers in The Gambia have raised objection to the Economic Partnership Agreements presently being negotiated between the European Union and the African Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Flab grab
15-Sep-2007 The Guardian
Raj Patel illuminates the failures of the global food system in "Stuffed and Starved"
Bosnia faces tough choices over free trade
15-Sep-2007 BIRN
Bosnian opponents of CEFTA — the Central European Free Trade Agreement — argue that the country’s agriculture and food industries are not yet ready to compete with their neighbors.
Open letter to the Prime Minister of India on the Indo-US Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture
6-Sep-2007
Given the interest generated with regard to the US-India nuclear deal, it is time to express our concerns on the US-India Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture, too, and not let it be implemented in a business-as-usual attitude.
’Fast track’ Aust-Korea trade agreement: NFF
5-Sep-2007 North Queensland Register
A new study reveals Australian agricultural and food exports to Korea could be slashed by 12% by 2030, in real terms, should Korea and the US ratify their free trade agreement.
Uganda: Coffee producers are the biggest losers
30-Aug-2007 AllAfrica.com
The pending economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the European Union and developing countries will further exploit Ugandan coffee producers
Kenya: EPAs could delay EU bid
28-Aug-2007 AllAfrica.com
Uncertainty is looming in Kenya’s horticultural sector following the move by the five EAC member states to sign one Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which they say could take much longer time than was previously anticipated.
Forum on food sovereignty in Korea
27-Aug-2007 LVC
Jose Bove said that the fight against EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements) is more difficult than the one against WTO because this only involves a few countries.
US-Korean food fight
26-Aug-2007 FPIF
The US government is working to deny South Koreans the right to local food and to undermine their domestic food safety laws through the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Thailand finds formula to settle rice dispute with SKorea, officials say
23-Aug-2007 IHT
Thailand has found a way to settle a dispute over rice with South Korea, allowing it to eventually join a free-trade deal between fellow Southeast Asian countries and Seoul, officials said Thursday.
Peru-Mexico to negotiate free trade agreement (FTA) in September
22-Aug-2007 LIP
Peru and Mexico will begin negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on September 17. Because Peru’s agricultural products do not directly compete with Mexican products, it is hoped that agreements will be reached.
KMP calls for junking of RP-China economic agreements
7-Aug-2007 KMP
The RP-China agricultural agreement, for example, provides China with the capability to produce food using Philippine territorial lands and waters.This would inevitably mean massive displacement of peasants from their lands, and the crops to be planted are not for Filipino consumption but for export to China.
US/Korean trade nonsense has to stop
6-Aug-2007 Cattle Network
Korea should continue to reject the occasional box of beef — the containers of boneless meat that accidentally contain bones or spinal material — and let the rest go through. Their buying public can make the decision about the quality of the product. At the same time, American beef packers should continue to work on their quality control procedures and get it right before the KORUS FTA is finalized.
Chile free trade agreement will not cost Aust jobs, Truss says
31-Jul-2007 ABC
The peak stonerfruit body, Summerfruit Australia, says cheap fruit and vegetable imports due to an Australia-Chila free trade agreement could wipe out 5,000 jobs.
Kenya: Govt should be cautious in free trade negotiations
31-Jul-2007 Kenya Times
To many sugarcane-dependent families in western Kenya, January 2008 will come with adverse consequences to livelihoods and life itself as Kenya joins more efficient sugar producers in the free market regimes of COMESA and EPA.
China deal hurting farm sector
29-Jul-2007 Bangkok Post
A new study finds that more than 100,000 Thai farming families cannot compete with cheap Chinese produce dumped in the market under Thailand’s FTA with China.
Orchardists oppose Chile free trade plans
27-Jul-2007 ABC Rural
Australian orchardists say thousands of jobs and millions of dollars could be lost if the Federal Government signs a free trade agreement with Chile.