The Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection, Fernand Etgen, participated in the 21st International exhibition for the food industry and agriculture "AgroBalt 2016", held from 31 March 31 to 2 April 2016 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The Minister used the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of food safety and the duty to ensure a high level thereof to European citizens.

He stressed the growing demand of European citizens for greater food quality and security. He consequently claimed that in order to meet these requirements, there needs to be an improved efficiency of official food chain controls in order to ensure a high level of food safety and quality in production within the EU and also in imports. According to the Minister, the common and mutual work of several actors is crucial and it will be necessary to have not only the commitment of public food safety authorities, but also the effective implementation of competition policy.

AgroBalt is an annual exhibition which aims to improve competitiveness within the agricultural and food industry, facilitate the development of SMEs in rural areas and help regional agricultural and food companies and institutions interact with other countries.

Photo by AgroBalt 2016