Ms. Aigner, what would you recommend to visitors from abroad – where can they gain the best impressions of “Germany, the land of gourmet delights”?
I come from Bavaria in southern Germany. Bavaria is world-famous for its beer and its veal sausage, the Weisswurst. But of course, Germany has a lot more to offer than this. After all, our country stretches from the North Sea and the Baltic coast right through to the Alps. Every region has its special delicacies that should definitely be tried. The unique bread culture is characteristic of Germany. No other country has so many excellent varieties of bread. Last year my ministry started the pilot project “Delicious Germany” in Lüneburg. We want to help increase people’s appreciation of the pleasure of eating, of eating culture, quality products and the craft of food production. In the Hanseatic town of Lüneburg salt was once produced and traded. Nowadays the town is known especially for its potatoes. We will soon be deciding which German town will host the “Gourmet Days” in October 2009.
What kind of status do farmers have in Germany?
Oh, it’s very high! Some four million people work in farming and agriculture, and in the immediately related sectors. That’s almost 10% of the working population. The food chain from the fields to the shopping basket is highly dependent on quality products from Germany’s agricultural sector. In addition to this, food from Germany create a positive balance in exports.
Which are Germany’s major agricultural export goods? No doubt many people instantly think of beer...
Beer is indeed one of the major products exported by German companies throughout the world. But the leading food is actually cheese to the value of three billion euros a year. We’re the export world champions in this respect, ahead of even the Netherlands and France. Cheese is followed by baked produce, chocolate and fresh pork. Beer is in sixth place, closely followed by spirits and wine.
How important are agricultural exports for Germany?
Agricultural exports secure existing jobs and create new ones, especially in Germany’s rural regions. Nowadays, every fifth euro earned by a German farmer comes from exports, and in the food sector it’s even every fourth euro. German agricultural exports for 2008 have notched up a record result yet again with an estimated 53 billion euros. Despite the current economic and financial crisis the food industry has managed to keep its exports levels on an even keel. Export promotion is especially important at times like this. My ministry sees itself primarily as a “door opener”. It’s important to cultivate existing markets and to open up strong markets in emerging economies, such as Russia, China, South Korea, India and Southeast Asia as well. The decisive factor is having fair access to these markets. Together with the industry I’ve worked out an export promotion action plan which bundles and focuses the necessary measures.
Healthy food ranks high for many Germans, and nowadays there are organic foods in every supermarket. Is the boom in organic foods likely to continue?
The organic foods market is still expanding. Germany is Europe’s largest market for organic foods with a value of 5.8 billion euros. As a result there have been double-digit percentage increases in turnover over the last five years. Market experts assume that this positive trend will continue over the next few years, though probably at a slightly slower pace. Organic farming is well-established in Germany. But there’s still a need to improve quality and productivity, lower the costs of logistics and distribution and to do greater justice to consumer expectations as far as better quality, designation of origins and pricing are concerned. The organic foods sector has to address these things itself first. Politics will continue to support the positive development and create the appropriate general framework. In this respect a significant start has been made towards promoting eco-friendly agriculture by the EU’s joint effort on the “improvement of agricultural structures and coastal protection” and the continuation of Germany’s federal ecological agriculture programme with its annual budget of 16 million euros.
Quality also plays a significant role in conventionally produced foods. How does Germany ensure food safety?
European and national food laws set high standards for the production, processing and marketing of foods. The food companies bear the responsibility for ensuring that foods fulfil all of the legal requirements. Controls are carried out by the food standards agency. Food safety and quality are also the key federal priority. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety supports the Länder in the coordination of nationwide monitoring programmes. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment freely publishes transparent and scientifically independent studies about risks that could be involved in the consumption of specific kinds of food.
The use of green gene technology is controversial. You recently banned the sowing of a genetically modified type of maize, but its cultivation is permitted in the USA and the majority of other EU countries. Why are you pursuing a different path?
That wasn’t a fundamental decision for or against green gene technology. There were some scientific findings showing that the cultivation of maize MON810 represents a danger to the environment. That’s why I had to suspend the permission to cultivate that particular strain. My assessment agrees with that of EU countries such as France, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg who have also banned its cultivation.
In April the agricultural ministers of the eight leading industrial countries met for the first time with representatives from newly industrialized countries to discuss how to secure food supplies for the world’s growing population in the economic crisis. What were the results?
Feeding a growing world population is one of the most crucial political tasks of our time. The G8 agricultural ministers all agree that the question of feeding the world must have the same status as climate protection, the financial crisis, environmental protection and the energy supply. The aim is to reduce the effects of the financial crisis on hunger and poverty, to strengthen sustainable agricultural and food production, to intensify agricultural research and to avoid unfair competition. The farmers of the world have to produce more on a sustainable basis, so that future global crises can be prevented. Increased support for small farms in the developing countries is also decisive, as is the promotion of individual projects. Ensuring sustainable agriculture and concentrating our efforts on small farmers are the only ways to fulfil the basic right to food.
Interview: Janet Schayan
