25 February 2010

1 minute read

Europe

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister, Mehdi Eker told Today's Zaman that depsite rising meat prices, the current supply of cattle is enough to meet the country's demand.

He believes that prices will return to normal levels without the need to import.

Asked about the high levels of pesticide residue in some agricultural products which prevent them from being exported, Mr Eker said problems related to pesticide residue have decreased significantly thanks to measures taken by the government and added that he hopes such issues will be completely eliminated in the near future.

The government recently increased the amount of money paid to farmers as part of an agricultural consultancy programme introduced last year that aims to solve major problems such as high levels of pesticide residue in produce. On 25 January, the European Commission on introduced a tighter regime for the control of pesticide residue in a number of fresh vegetables and fruits imported from Turkey, according to Today's Zaman.

TheCattleSite News Desk