Why have prices risen more in some eastern European Member States?
Because of the relatively high share of agricultural raw commodity value in final product value in certain new Member States, retail prices have risen more sharply than in the EU as a whole. This probably results from the fact that fewer goods and services are added to the raw agricultural product throughout the food supply chain. Hence, recent agricultural market price increases have led to higher consumer price increases in countries like Bulgaria, Lithuania and Estonia than in other EU Member States. Sharper retail price increases in certain Member States are partly because starting levels are comparatively low. Do EU export subsidies destroy African farming? Absolutely not. 15 years ago, we spent €10 billion a year on export subsidies. This year, it will be well below €1 billion and will fall to a maximum of €350 million next year. Only 10 percent of agricultural export subsidies go to ACP countries. Contrary to recent media reports, the EU does not subsidise any exports of either
