BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The European Commission on Jan. 18 published its medium-term forecasts "Prospects for Agricultural Markets and Income in the E.U. 2012-2022" projecting the trends for major E.U. agricultural commodity markets until 2022.
Based on a set of assumptions, E.U. commodity markets are projected to remain balanced, on average, over the outlook period.
The report depicts a relatively positive outlook for arable crops in the E.U., as a result of solid world demand and firm prices.
Medium term prospects for milk and dairy products appear favorable due to the continuing expansion of world demand. Global population and economic growth, as well as increasing preference for dairy products are expected to be the main drivers, fuelling E.U. exports and sustaining commodity prices, especially for cheese and skimmed milk powder.
The E.U, meat market is expected to contract by 2% over the next two years, affected by the on-going economic downturn.
The study is available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets-and-prices/reports_en.htm.