Key Concerns of the German Potato Trade Association About the Future EU Agriculture Policy
The next European Parliament elections are significant. In the run-up to the European elections, the German Potato Trade Association (DKHV) reiterates its key concerns about future EU agriculture policy.
“It is about securing the future of the German potato trade and the entire potato industry. The primary goal must be to offer companies a stable economic perspective to meet the challenges of our time and at the same time to further promote climate protection and sustainability,” Thomas Herkenrath, President of the DKHV, mentioned.
The DKHV, an independent trade group, represents the interests of around 170 members, which include potato trading companies, packers, peeling companies, breeders, producers, and makers of packaging materials and potato technology. They are urging EU MPs to encourage sustainable growing practices while also strengthening the potato industry’s innovative power and competitiveness through an unbureaucratic EU agriculture policy, research funding, and the removal of international trade restrictions.
Key concerns of the DKHV for the 2024 European elections:
1) No additional bureaucratic requirements and no mandatory impact assessment
The potato industry promotes a sustainable and high-quality natural product. Only entrepreneurial freedom in the potato sector promotes innovation and supply security.
“When implementing legislative proposals, the principle of reducing bureaucracy or the one-in-one-out rule should be followed. We reject additional documentation and reporting requirements. New bureaucratic regulations and laws require a reliable impact assessment for the entire economic chain,” DKHV experts said.
2) Promoting research and innovation for greater sustainability
The potato industry is innovative. Policymakers must provide greater support for research and development throughout the entire value chain. This includes the promotion of modern sorting, cooling, and packaging systems as well as the expansion of digitization in rural areas.
3) Reduction of international trade barriers
The potato industry is an important economic factor in Germany and Europe. The DKHV calls on EU policymakers to push for the removal of phytosanitary trade barriers to exports in their bilateral and multilateral talks with third countries to support European companies. The DKHV expects political support to ensure equal treatment of EU member states compared to third countries when exporting.
4) Holistic approach to sustainability and promotion of new potato varieties
The potato is one of the most sustainable foods in the world in terms of its positive properties for soil fertility, erosion protection, and low water consumption. At the same time, the potato industry is challenged by weather extremes as a result of climate change, new pests, and potato diseases.
To protect domestic potato cultivation, a holistic approach to sustainability must be the focus. When implementing legislative proposals to achieve sustainability goals, all three pillars must therefore be given equal weight: social, ecological, and economic!
Sustainable resistance management is necessary to secure potato cultivation. We demand the implementation of efficient protective measures in potato cultivation.
The DKHV calls on politicians to provide greater support for research and development in the areas of sustainable plant protection and fertilizer use. Timely access to modern breeding and cultivation methods must be ensured.
