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On September 13 & 14, the European Union Parliament adopted its negotiating positions on Deforestation-Free Supply Chains regulations and revisions to the Renewable Energy Directive. The two files will now enter trilogue negotiations, where the Council, Parliament, and Commission will work to reach a compromise text.

In 2021, the European Union (EU)-27 imported $7.1 billion in tree nuts from the world. The United States, with $2.5 billion, is the largest EU-27 tree nuts supplier, accounting for 35 percent of total imports.

On each third Tuesday of September, the Dutch King’s speech is held prior to the opening of the parliamentary year. In his speech, King Willem-Alexander mentioned circular agriculture as option to tackle the Dutch nitrogen problem.

There are new export opportunities for oysters grown in Massachusetts and Washington since the EU lifted its import ban on live, chilled, frozen, and processed bivalve mollusks from the United States. As part of the equivalency arrangement between the EU and the United States, the U.S. market will now also be open for Dutch oysters, creating a win-win.

Forced by record high feed and energy prices and tightening environmental restrictions, EU cattle and swine farmers are scaling back production. High carcass prices have encouraged cattle farmers to advance the slaughter of their herds, but lower slaughter weights will put pressure on overall beef production this year.

On September 5, 2022, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, Henk Staghouwer, resigned after he informed the Dutch Cabinet and Parliament about his Ministry’s delay in providing a plan for the future outlook of the Dutch agricultural sector and after he failed to obtain Brussels’ permission to continue to exceed caps on how much manure farmers can return to their fields.

On August 3-5, 2022, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) presented the 2022 EU apple and pear crop forecast at the 47th edition of the Prognosfruit convention. WAPA forecasts the 2022 EU fresh apples crop at 12.2 million metric tons (MT), 1.3 percent above the 2021 harvest and nine percent higher than the average of the preceding three years.