The aim of these EU market observatories is to bring more transparency to their respective sectors by sharing market data and short-term analysis.

The decision to create the observatories is a response to requests from the sectors concerned for more timely information on the evolution of their markets. As EU agriculture and rural development commissioner Phil Hogan, announcing the creation of the observatories at the recent Salon de l'agriculture farm show in Paris, said: "I have listened carefully to the calls from farmers in the arable crops sector of the need to monitor the market more closely, having regard to the importance of the sector for EU agriculture, and the forthcoming end of the quota regime in the sugar sector."

Both the new observatories are expected to begin work before summer 2017 and will bring together economic experts from both sectors with officials from the Commission's agriculture and rural development department to provide first-hand information about the situation on their respective markets.

The Commission has just launched a call for experts to select members of the economic  boards of each market observatory, targeting economic experts from the sugar and crops sectors, including producers, processors, traders, distributors and retailers. The deadline for submitting applications to join these economic boards is 10 April 2017.

The sugar and crops observatories will join the two existing ones for the milk and meat sectors.

More information on the calls for applications for the new sugar and crops market observatories.

Via ec.europa.eu