Please note: The opening tour of the International Green Week 2017 will commence on Friday, 20 January, at 8 a.m. on the stand of the partner country Hungary in Hall 10.2. Please have your Green Week accreditation with you.. The number of the day: With sales worth 172 bi. Euros, in 2016 the food industry is the third largest industrial sector in Germany. Quote of the day: «My ministry has developed an animal welfare label to improve animal welfare. This goes together with the initial steps in abolishing the killing of chicks. If not at the International Green Week then where else could I present this seal of quality to a wide public comprising consumers and producers.» Quote by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forests, Christian Schmidt (CSU), at the question time organised by the Association of German Agricultural Journalists (VADJ) at the Green Week 2017. Rukwied on Brexit: Keep access to the British market open VDAJ question time focusing on current business and agricultural policy: «The United Kingdom is an important market for Germany’s agriculture. In 2015 Germany supplied the British isles with agricultural produce and foodstuffs worth 4.8 billion euros. Germany’s surplus on its the balance of trade in agricultural products with the United Kingdom is 3.4 billion euros, which is almost twice as high as the total value of exports to the USA. We will give high priority in the Brexit negotiations to an open market with the United Kingdom.» This was stated by the president of the German Farmers’ Union (DBV), Joachim Rukwied, at the VDAJ Question Time. There will also be serious consequences for the Common Agricultural Policy. Despite the ‘British rebate’, the United Kingdom is one of the net contributors. The amount paid in exceeds repayments by 7 billion euros. «Consequently, following Brexit, and with proportional reductions in all budgets, there would be a shortfall in excess of 3 billion euros in the agricultural budget», Rukwied explained. German Farmers’ Union (DBV), contact: Patsy Elke Thimm, tel.: + 49 (0)30- 31904–239, email: P.Thimm@bauernverband.net Minister Backhaus: IGW an enormous test market for Mecklenburg-West Pomerania «The IGW is an enormous test market for products, brands and companies from Mecklenburg-West Pomerania», according to the Minister for Agriculture and the Environment, Dr. Till Backhaus, speaking prior to the opening in his state’s hall on Friday (20 Jan.). «The presentation of many positive aspects makes a significant contribution to promoting the state’s image. The fact that many polls have shown that the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is regularly among the public’s favourites is proof of the effectiveness of this concept.» A major factor contributing to this success is the varied programme on the stage. New items on display include organic and vegan ready-made meals from Vegaz Lunch in Rothenklempenow, and ‘Elbetaler’, a new brand name for products from Agrarproduktion Lübtheen. The state’s day on Saturday has been organised by the county of Vorpommern-Rügen. Hall 5.2b, contact: Matthias Sievert, tel.: +49 171 8980404 email: p.wachter@mg-niedersachsen.de Austria’s foreign trade in agricultural products maintains momentum Last year the value of Austria’s exports of agricultural products exceeded ten billion euros. Michael Blass, Chief Executive of AMA-Marketing (AgrarMarkt Austria), gave an interim summary of results shortly before the start of the Green Week. This revealed that exports rose in value in 2016 by 3.2 per cent, compared with a slight reduction in the export volume. Foreign trade in agricultural products has increased almost six-fold since the country joined the EU. Among its exports the most important product groups are meat and processed meat, milk and dairy products. Fresh and processed fruit and vegetable as well as baked goods each account for just under one tenth in the product rankings. Germany remains the leading trading partner for Austria’s food producers. Italy is still in second place with just under 1.2 billion euros, and the USA is third. Hall 15.1, Stand 137, contact: Manuela Schürr, tel.: +43 (0)1/33151404, email: manuela.schuerr@ama.gv.at Regional delicacies from Lower Saxony and Bremen With all kinds of products including Schnuckenbräu beer from the Lüneburg Heath to country hams from Ammerland and Harzer Stracke sausage, the 83 exhibitors in the Lower Saxony hall are presenting the state’s culinary diversity. Bremen is again contributing to the display with a range of organic regional products. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a diverse programme of entertainment on the stage, with music, quizzes and cookery displays. Next Wednesday (25 Jan.) the traditional Lower Saxony Evening for invited guests will be one of the social highlights of the Green Week. Hall 20, contact: Peter Wachter, tel.: +49 173 9776667, email: p.wachter@mg-niedersachsen.de Extra hot: Seal of quality for Tunisian harissa Tunisia has introduced a seal of quality for its hot, spicy harissa paste. The Tunisian Conserved Food Association (GICA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are presenting the quality label ‘Food Quality Label Tunisia’ at the Green Week. Annual production amounts to 30,000 tonnes, of which about one third (11,000 tonnes) is exported, and a workforce of some 25,000 is employed in this sector. The seal is a guarantee that a traditional recipe is used, comprising at least 85 per cent chilli. Other ingredients include caraway seed, coriander, salt and garlic. Hall 6.2, Stand 103, contact: Jessica Kliem (c/o Kohl PR und Partner GmbH), tel: +49 (0) 30226679 -26, email: j.kliem@kohl-pr.de Bavaria at the Green Week with heavy horses and plenty to enjoy This year the Bavaria hall at the Green Week features the Arberland region and the Bavarian Forest. In a symbolic gesture, at the beginning of January the Minister for Agriculture Helmut Brunner dispatched two ambassadors from the Bavarian Forest in a coach to Berlin with a basket of delicacies. The coach carrying the two young ladies was drawn by two magnificent heavy stallions, and. they will be in good company at the fair because a further 28 South German heavy horses will be there to compete in the eighth National Heavy Horse Show, organised by the German Equestrian Association (FN) from 20 to 22 January. Hall 22b, contact: Hubertus Wörner, tel.: +49 (0)173/8641771, email: presse@stmelf.bayern.de Pasta squares filled with carp from Lower Silesia ‘Pierogi z karpiem’, which translates as pasta squares with carp, are available to be sampled by visitors to the Green Week on the Polish combined display in Hall 11.2 on the stand of the Lower Silesia Regional Authority. The recipe comes from the Zagroda Grabownica guest house, which concentrates on serving typical regional dishes, including such local specialities as carp, as well as meals for vegetarians and vegans. The guest house has received numerous awards for its food. For example, last year the pasta squares with carp was the recipient of the highly sought-after award ‘The Best Flavour in Lower Silesia’ and was the winner of the competition ‘Our Culinary Heritage’. Hall 11.2, Stand 104b, contact: Jolanta Bogatsu, tel.: +48 (0)508/134010, email: zagrodagrabownica@gmail.com Bio Hall: Experience organic food live, on the stand and on the stage Opportunities to sample organic food, sensory exploration points, discussions with experts: The national programme Ecological Cultivation and Other Forms of Sustainable Agriculture (BÖLN) is again represented by a large stand and an attractive programme on the stage in the Bio-Hall (1.2b). This year, the Year of Sustainable Tourism, the focus is on holidays on organic farms and facilities for families with young children. Farmers belonging to the Network of Farms Demonstrating Organic Cultivation are also presenting some interesting tourism attractions with the emphasis on nature. Bio-Hall 1.2b, Stand 215, contact: Oliver Z. Weber (Press), tel.: +49(0)178–218 1811, Christel Marxen (stand director), tel.: +49(0)175–260 7725, email: christel.marxen@mp-gmbh.de, www.biowoche.de BMEL display: Male or female? Why is it interesting to know whether the chick developing inside a fertilized egg is male or female? The answer is simple. In egg production it is mainly females that are required, because they grow up to become laying hens. Male one-day old chicks are identified and killed. However, it would be possible to avoid the hatching and subsequent killing of chicks at a very early stage if the sex of the embryo could be determined within the egg, i.e. ‘in ovo’. Initial procedures of this kind are already available. One example is that of raman spectroscopy, which uses light rays to establish the sex of the animal in an incubated egg after just three days, without harming the developing embryo. The question «male or female?» can be answered in only 15 to 20 seconds. The display by the Federal Ministry for Agriculture demonstrates exactly how this is done using a large scale reconstruction of a chicken’s egg, which visitors can actually enter. Hall 23a, contact: Jens Urban, tel.: 030–18529–3174, +49(0)30–18529–3208
