Market Organisation

Source: BLE

As the market organisation body for the cross-border exchange of goods and services in the food, agriculture and forestry sectors, the BLE issues Import and Export Licences and permits. The import list (annex to the Foreign Trade Act) contains information on individual products that are subject to import licences and on other foreign trade limitations eventually in place.

Since the foundation of the EU, common agricultural policy (CAP) has been one of its major policy areas. It aims to guarantee consumers adequate prices for agricultural products and a fair income for farmers. To this effect, the EU agricultural market is being organised, i.e., the state applies certain regulatory measures to intervene on the market.

One of these measures consists in the state buying and selling agricultural products (Intervention Measures). Other measures include public funding for certain actions, such as Special Measures in agriculture or Private Storage. In Germany, the BLE is the intervention body for most of the agricultural products on the market.

The European Community provides means for Sales Promotion, on both the internal market and in third countries, for European agricultural products and it supports central information and promotional measures in third countries for Wines produced in Germany.

To support the German agricultural and food industries in their efforts towards opening up new markets abroad, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has initiated an Export Promotion programme coordinated by the BLE.

To improve the free movement of goods within the European Union, Product Contact Points have been set up in the Member States. The purpose of these Product Contact Points is to facilitate access to the national market for economic operators of other Member States.

Top