“Land, Soil and Dairy – just another positive claw print of our dairy cows”

Richard Laxton, sustainability manager at Arla Foods, drives as chair of our EDA Sustainability working group the pre-competitive work on our sustainability agenda:

“If we don’t have the right answers to the sustainability challenges for the dairy sector, we will not stay the leading dairy industry at global level. This Sustainability Break Out session will focus on the basis of basically all agricultural activity: land and soil. I am convinced that those questions will be become an important, if not the most important issues in the future debates. Within the EDA Sustainability Working Group, we do prepare for these discussions. I invite you to experience the EDA Sustainability Break Out Session and to get ready for the future.”

• Welcome and Opening by Richard Laxton (Arla Foods)
• Highlights from the EDA Sustainability work in 2016/2017
  Richard Laxton (Arla Foods)
• “Dairy & Biodiversity – our natural capital”, by Jennifer Huet (head of environmental division CNIEL, Paris, France)
• “Pasture land and carbon sequestration” by Pernilla Tidåker (researcher at the Department of Energy and Technology; Division of Agricultural Engineering at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden)

Wim Kloosterboer, corporate manager trade and dairy affairs at FrieslandCampina, is the leader of our EDA Trade and Economics Committee and will chair this session.

Wim did set up a program that reflects both, the broad range of pre-competitive trade and economic topics on our daily dairy agenda and the in depth assessment of those dossiers within our EDA work.

Wim Kloosterboer will open the session in giving an insight on where the European ‘lactosphère’ stands vis-à-vis some of our ‘hot’ topics, like the discussion on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the Union, the positioning of the dairy sector within the BREXIT dossier or the changes in the global trade landscape.

With Pablo Recio Gracia, Eibens consulting Beijing, we have one of the most experienced specialist on the Chinese dairy markets who is ready to share with us his overall assessment of the market developments and outlook in China.

Prof Dr Holger Thiele, University of Applied Science Kiel und ife Institute of Food Economics will fuel our discussion on the future CAP with his essential knowledge on dairy markets and price volatility.

Join the trade and economics break out session and be part of the future of EU dairy!

• “Our EDA work to shape the future framework”
  Wim Kloosterboer (RFC)
• “China: is the dairy demand resistant to overheating macro-economics?”
  Pablo Recio Gracia, Eibens consulting Beijing
• “Volume and price management – the two ingredients for a flourishing EU dairy”
  Prof Dr Holger Thiele, University of Applied Science Kiel und ife Institute of Food Economics

The international trade landscape has changed tremendously over the past years. For the European dairy industry, international trade is – next to the EU Single Market-  the key for continuing our success story in the future.

In times of a high level of geopolitical variables, continued European leadership is paramount for dairy, for Europe and for the global community.

We are proud to have with EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström the global leader in trade policy in our European Dairy Platform. With her ‘Trade for All’ strategy, Commissioner Cecilia Malmström cleared the path for an ambitious trade policy at EU and global level and positioned the Union in a leadership role.

Her commitment to trade and to its capacity to deliver real economic results and value for all trading partners created a new dynamic in trade policies and negotiations.

Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will discuss our trade ambitions and our trade issues with the CEOs of Europe based dairies whose daily business is to uncork the export potential for our premium EU dairy products.

Ms Annikka Hurme (CEO Valio), Mr Peder Tuborgh (CEO Arla Foods), Mr Ingo Müller (CEO DMK) and Mr Bernard Ducros (Regional Vice President for Danone Dairy) are ready to share their trade experiences around the globe with Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and to define with her the future of the global dairy trade.

The session will be chaired by Ms Catherine Paice (Dairy Industry Newsletter, UK).