A Commission spokesman confirmed to Globalmeatnews.com that animals and animal products would be an important focus of “future joint activities to be launched and sustained under this co-operation plan” and that there were likely to be more specific actions related to husbandry technology and veterinary science.
On the latter, the spokesman said that the plan could “further channel positive outputs from research and innovation projects in the field of animal health or food safety.” They added that specific sectors and projects will be jointly identified and debated in the future.
The Commission said given growing international trade, especially with China, and climate change, “the geography of diseases is gradually changing and renewed efforts on international cooperation are necessary” and that there were “obvious gains for both parties in finding solutions to mitigate animal diseases”, particularly in the pig and poultry sectors.
The two sides “can also benefit from sharing information and practices on the possible management of these diseases in case of an outbreak,” it said, adding that the agreement could also lead to joint projects related to food safety cooperation and animal health with a view to deepening scientific co-operation on improving standards in food safety and animal health regulations.
Chinese minister Han Changfu said he was “confident that with our concerted efforts, agricultural cooperation between China and the European Union will surely realise mutual benefits, win-win results and common development”.