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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/UN Food and Agriculture Organisation
Joint OECD/FAO Press Conference
Forecasts, trends, policies and challenges facing world agriculture
Agricultural Outlook 2005-2014
Agricultural Policies: Monitoring and Evaluation 2005
12.00 noon, Tuesday 21 June, 2005
UN Palais des Nations, Press Room 1 
Geneva, Switzerland

Presented by Loek Boonekamp, Darryl Jones and Catherine Moreddu of the OECD and Merritt Cluff, of the FAO.

Global competition among exporters of wheat, rice, oilseeds, sugar and livestock is expected to intensify over the next 10 years among both developed and developing countries, according to the OECD’s latest Agricultural Outlook – produced for first time in collaboration with the FAO. Stiffer competition combined with higher productivity, will result in a further drop in real prices for most commodities. Because of increasing supplies in low cost non-OECD countries, rising demand growth in most developing countries, and the continued high degree of protection in many of the rich, OECD markets, an increasing share of trade in farm products will be between developing countries.

The Monitoring and Evaluation report, meanwhile, includes an assessment of the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy in the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004. It finds that:

• Enlargement has increased the diversity of EU farm structures.
• Although it brought in large amounts of land and labour, the value of agricultural production increased by less than 10 percent.
• Farm income in new Member States is likely to increase significantly over the medium term.

Levels of support in new member states were estimated to be well below levels of the existing 15 EU countries in 2004, but given the relatively small size of the sector, average support to farmers across the  newly enlarged EU relative to farm receipts was reduced by one percentage point only.

In the 30 member countries of the OECD the average level of support to farmers remained unchanged last year at 30 percent of overall farm receipts. The report nevertheless welcomes the reduction in many countries of highly trade distorting measures such as the propping up of market prices, and the move to payments that are less linked to specific commodities.

Journalists may obtain summary versions of both the Agricultural Outlook 2005-2014 and Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: Monitoring and Evaluation, under embargo until 11.00 a.m. (Paris time) on Tuesday 21 June, 2005, by contacting the OECD's Media Relations Division (tel [33] 1 4524 9700).

For further information, please contact Stephen Di Biasio at OECD Media relations, (tel. [33] 1 45 24 9700) or Erwin Northoff, at FAO Media relations, FAO (tel:  [39] 06 570 53105;).