Quick Take — France: drought causes a ‘plunge’ in crop production: ‘even with irrigation, the young plants did not survive’

Cauliflower, peas and salad crops are suffering from a lack of water and successive heatwaves. The sector is describing the situation as a ‘disaster’, particularly across the whole of western France, whilst the ability to sow crops for subsequent seasons is also being hampered.

Vegetables are not the only crops affected: the maize harvest is also expected to fall sharply (by 30 per cent), whilst poultry farms were hit hard by high mortality rates during the heatwave at the end of June…  milk production, one of the sectors hardest hit by climate change this year, according to the Minister for Agriculture…

Below: a scorched maize cob in Albiate

The European agricultural lobby, Copa-Cogeca, opposes reforms on pesticides, intensive farming and animal welfare

… The same method was used to defend public funding for the promotion of red and processed meat. When the Commission considered excluding these products from programmes in line with the European plan against cancer, Copa-Cogeca engaged with certain Commissioners, the wine and spirits organisations, and national associations. The restrictions were first watered down and then dropped altogether. The comment in the internal documents is succinct: “The lobbying has paid off.”

Oil and wheat: from one below-cost price to the next, amidst widespread indifference

The contradictions within the Ministry of Agriculture and the lack of substance in the positions adopted by trade union organisations (Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, etc.) on an issue that should concern us all: the failure to tackle unfair practices creates numerous market distortions that skew costs, prices and margins. And these developments run directly counter to the protection of sovereignty that this government would appear to advocate.

Quick Take — Imports of Brazilian meat into Europe to be halted from 3 September. The country’s authorities are working to have the ban lifted

The measure was unanimously approved on 12 May by the 27 EU countries.

The decision concerns cattle, horses, poultry, eggs, aquaculture products, honey and casings, and was taken by a committee comprising experts from EU Member States due to the use of antibioticsandgrowth-promoting hormones in livestock farming, as reported in L’informatore zootecnico.

Brazil is a key trading partner for Europe in this sector: according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, between January and March 2026, Brazilian meat exports to the EUhad already reached508.7 million dollars, amounting to 116.5 thousand tonnes.

In 2025, the EU purchased animal proteins from Brazil worth approximately 1.8 billion dollars, equivalent to 368,100 tonnes. After China, it is the second-largest market for Brazilian meat…

It is a serious matter that Brazil is not considering removing the banned substances but is only thinking about lifting the ban. And that nobody knows anything about the illegal meat that has already been sold. Nobody is talking any more about Mercosur, which has already come into force.