Hand in hand.

Despite being more than 18 months on the job as agriculture commissioner for the European Union (EU), Mariann Fischer Boel's job never has been an easy one. As Denmark's Minister of Agriculture, Fischer Boel led the EU in reforming its agriculture policy in 2003, when Denmark held the six-month rotating presidency. In November she reformed the trade bloc's sensitive sugar sector, a decision likely to be a boon for big sugar exporters such as Brazil LATIN TRADE Europe Correspondent Meghan Sapp spoke with Fischer Boel about Europe's future with Latin America as free trade expands.

As Brazil's role in global food production and trade grows, how can the EU participate in this kind of market?

The reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy has resulted in a more market-orientated and quality-focused agricultural production, with lower surpluses in most sectors. The EU has lost market share in some sectors, in particular in bulk commodities. This trend is expected to continue in the future. As a consequence, it is expected that EU exports in the future will be more focused on value-added products than on bulk commodities. Brazil, with its vast land resources and ideal growing conditions, is a very competitive agricultural producer and exporter. The EU is currently Brazil's biggest export market for agricultural products, mainly importing commodities such as soybeans, meat and coffee. With expected further increases in global agricultural trade in the future, including to a larger extent emerging economies in Asia, there should be more opportunities for exports of both quality products and basic commodities. In this sense, Europe and Brazil could complement each other as exporters.

How go EU agricultural negotiations with Mercosur?

The EU and Mercosur countries met in October 2005 at the ministerial level and will probably meet again in the coming months. In the meantime, various meetings at the technical level are planned. The EU remains committed to negotiating a bi-regional agreement with Mercosur. Of course, the EU is currently engaged in intensive multilateral negotiations in the WTO [World Trade Organization] Doha Round talks, and this will have to be taken into account in the bilateral negotiations.

How are EU agricultural policies and goals different from the United States?

The EU does not see either its cooperation or its agricultural policies as being in competition with anyone else. The EU's track record in favor of developing countries on development cooperation and agricultural trade is well proven, not least by the fact that the EU is the biggest agricultural importer from developing countries, importing as much as the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada combined. We have by far the most extensive generalized system of preferences program in the world, and the EU has concluded free trade agreements with a number of developing countries, including Mexico and Chile.

What agricultural aid relationship does the EU expect to have with the least-developed countries in Latin America?

The developing Latin American countries qualify under an EU regulation agreed upon in 1992 for financial and technical assistance, as well as for economic cooperation. In September 2004, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new regulation establishing a financial instrument for development and economic cooperation, which will supersede the earlier rules when it comes into effect. Under programs for social cohesion and the fight against poverty, rural development projects will still be eligible for funding.

How can Latin America better take advantage of EU trade?

The EU is already a key market for Latin American exports of agricultural products, most of which benefit from the [Generalized System of Preferences] or the GSP-plus preferential regimes. The EU is currently engaged in both multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations with Latin American countries. These are taking place in the WTO Doha talks, the EU-Mercosur bi-regional negotiations and the evaluation exercise to analyze the possibilities of beginning negotiations with the Central American countries and the Andean Community as regional trade blocs. These initiatives will all further expand the existing trade opportunities for the Latin American countries.

Besides selling crops, what is there to gain?

A more liberal trade environment will obviously benefit the transfer of technology and know-how between the EU and Latin America. The problem, as I see it, in terms of technology use in the Latin American countries, is the varied nature of the agricultural sector. On the one hand, you have very large-scale farms, which usually employ very modern technology and compete successfully in a global context. On the other hand, you have the subsistence farmers, which have very limited access to capital and technology.