30. 11. 81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 310/1 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
Opinion on the Community's food aid policy 
The opinion of the Committee is not based on any text. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
At its 180th plenary session held on 2 and 3 July 1980 the Committee, acting on a proposal from 
the Bureau, decided to deliver an opinion on the abovementioned subject on its own 
initiative. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
190th plenary session held in Brussels on 23 and 24 September 1981. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
1 July 1980 entrusting the Section for External Relations 
with the preparation of an opinion on food aid, 
Having regard to the its Rules of Procedure, and in 
particular Article 20 (4) thereof, 
Having regard to its earlier opinions on the 
Communication from the Commission to the Council 
concerning food aid programmes for 1980 ('), and on the 
Communication from the Commission to the Council on 
food aid (2), 
Having regard to the opinion issued by the Section for 
External Relations at its meeting on 9 June 1981, 
Having regard to the report submitted by Mr D. 
Williams, the Rapporteur, 
(») OJNoC205, 11.8. 1980. 
(2) OJNoC331, 17. 12. 1980. Having regard to the discussions on 23 September, at its 
190th plenary session held on 23 and 24 September 
1981, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
Introduction 
1. The aim of the Committee in this opinion is to 
examine the Community's food aid policy in the light of 
experience gained in recent years. In its opinion of 
29 April 1980 (') the Committee, at the Council's request, 
examined the Commission's food aid proposals for 1980. 
While carrying out this task the Commission's proposals 
for 1981 were received and, though they are not 
examined in detail, they are referred to below where 
appropriate. 
2. Many wide issues were raised in the course of this 
examination including agricultural policies in developing 
countries, general aid policy, population control, etc. But 
the examination concentrated on the Community's food 
aid policy against the background of world food 
prospects in the next two decades. 
No C 310/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 11. 81 
Food aid and the world food situation 
3. Most forecasts indicate that during the last two 
decades of the 20th century most developing countries 
will become even more dependent on food imports, 
especially cereals, than they are now. The shortfall 
between domestic supply and demand is growing 
everywhere except in North America. The bulk of these 
imports will be required in Africa, Latin America and 
Asia. According to FAO, in 1981 world cereal production 
per capita is expected to fall for the second year in 
succession; and the total import requirement of 
developing countries is forecast to be 94 million tonnes as 
compared with 88 million tonnes in 1980. By 1990, given 
present trends in population growth and cereal 
production and consumption, these requirements are 
expected to be 145 million tonnes. 
4. Some of this increase in cereal imports, however, 
especially wheat, is due to increasing purchasing power 
and changing eating habits in middle income developing 
countries. The real danger lies in the other group of 
countries, notably some of the poorer countries in Africa, 
where the rise in imports is due to stagnant - or declining 
- domestic production combined with rapid population 
growth and whose foreign exchange earnings are 
inadequate to finance both development investment and 
food imports. Even in 1980, Africa was only 86% 
self-sufficient in cereals: on present population and cereal 
production trends, the estimate is that it will be only 61 % 
self-sufficient in the year 2000. 
5. The Committee considers that the Community and 
its Member States, in all their relevant policies and in their 
institutional arrangements, should take account of this 
long-term nature of the situation which faces them. Over 
the next 20 years, to meet the growing food gap 
continuing efforts will be needed to maintain and increase 
the exports of the present food exporting areas (especially 
of cereals, though proteins are also important) and to 
improve and increase agricultural production in food 
deficit areas. The task requires well-organized 
international cooperation in which the Community, as 
one of the world's major producers, importers and 
exporters of foodstuffs, must play an active and positive 
role. The aim must be to provide global food security for a 
growing world population and assure the supplies of 
essential foodstuffs at prices which will permit both the 
financing of other imports and adequate investments for 
development. 
The role of food aid in the Community's external 
relations 
6. The question of trade in foodstuffs therefore is 
likely to be an important element in the relations between developed and developing countries for at least the rest of 
this centur-. It will certainly be a major element in the 
Community's external policy. Within it, the activities of 
the Community in the field of food aid are likely to remain 
important for as long ahead as can be foreseen. For this 
there are three reasons: 
(a) first the EEC is already an important donor of food 
aid; under the 1979/1980 food aid programme the 
Community and its Member States provided 15 % of 
cereals tood aid and under the 1980/1981 Food Aid 
Convention it is due to provide 22% of the total 
quantity of world food aid in cereals (56 % of it from 
the Community and 44 % from the Member States). 
As long as arrangements similar to the Food Aid 
Convention survive, it must be expected that the 
Community's role will continue to be a major 
one; 
(b) secondly the EEC's food aid is an important part of 
its general development aid programme, costing 
some 580 million EUA in 1981 plus transport costs 
of 55 million EUA. Moreover it is its principal 
instrument for helping the non-ACP countries, 
especially in Asia, and therefore an important factor 
in its relations with such countries of growing 
importance; 
(c) finally food aid creates a link between agricultural 
production in developed and developing countries. 
Within the Community it also provides a close link 
between agricultural and development policy. 
7. The Committee believes that given the long-term 
nature of the problems involved, the large sums of money 
which are being spent and the widespread ramifications 
of the policies which are being pursued, the Community 
must take steps to ensure that its policies are better 
planned and more consistently applied than in the past 
and also that they are more effectively administered. 
Some particular points are dealt with below. 
Major aspects of the Community's food aid policy 
8. The Committee considers that greater consistency 
over time in the Community's food aid policy could be 
achieved if the Community, and in particular the Council 
of Ministers, accepted three principles now contained in 
the Commission's proposals to the Council. The three 
principles are discussed below: 
30. 11. 81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 310/3 
8.1. Food aid should become much more an instrument 
of the Community rural development and food 
security policy than it has been hitherto 
The Committee supports this view. In its opinion of 
30 October 1980 (') the Economic and Social Committee 
expressed its desire 'to ensure that Community food aid 
should be more directly integrated with economic 
development and more especially with the food and 
agriculture sector'. In the same opinion the Committee 
also expressed support for other policies mentioned by 
the Commission and the Parliament viz. multi-annual 
programming and the use of food aid to establish food 
stocks. The Committee therefore welcomes the fact that 
the Council of Ministers, in its Resolution of 
18 November 1980, appeared to accept these proposals, 
in particular multi-annual programming. Although the 
Council of Ministers (not for the first time incidentally) 
has accepted the principle, the Committee notes with 
regret that it has not yet adopted the management 
regulations which would give it legislative effect. It is to be 
hoped that the Council will take the necessary action as 
soon as possible. It also trusts that the Council will try to 
ensure that more of the Community's development aid, 
including food aid, shall be devoted to increasing 
agricultural production in developing countries, 
especially food for local consumption. 
8.2. Food aid should be suited in both quantitative and 
qualitative terms to the needs of the developing 
countries and not to the state of the CAP 
surpluses 
The Committee considers that the common charge that 
the Community's food aid programme is an inefficient 
way of distributing European surplus production to the 
poor countries is not entirely fair. In volume, the major 
part of the Community's food aid programme consists of 
cereals of which the Community until recently has been a 
net importer. In expenditure, however, the story is 
different. The Commission's proposals for 1981 for 
example show only some 34% of the expenditure of 
638 million EUA being spent on the cereals for which the 
developing country demand is greatest, while the other 
65% goes on milk powder and butteroil, derived from 
the Community's dairy surpluses. Moreover some of the 
major inefficiencies of the Community's food aid 
programme in the past have occurred in the distribution 
of dairy products, which are difficult to adapt to the needs 
(>) OJNoC331, 17. 12. 1980. of many developing countries (especially the poorest) and 
which if improperly used can do more harm than good. 
The Commission has made various recommendations to 
the Council designed to improve the quality of its food aid 
by better quality control and by offering products better 
adapted to recipients' needs (a proposal endorsed with 
suitable safeguards by the Economic and Social 
Committee in its opinion of 30 October 1980). Some of 
these proposals seem to have been accepted by the 
Council in its Resolution of 18 November 1980; but the 
Committee regrets that there is no sign yet of the 
Regulations which would put them into effect. 
8.3. The Commission's administration of food aid 
should be improved by adopting without delay 
certain management regulations first put to the 
Council about two years ago designed to delegate 
greater powers to the Commission and also, by 
approving certain increases in the Commission's 
staff, dealing with food aid 
In its opinion of 29 April 1980, the Economic and Social 
Committee has already approved the aims of these 
proposed reform. Later the European Parliament likewise 
has urged the Council to accept them. The adoption of 
such reforms ought to improve greatly the speed and 
effectiveness of the Community's food, aid programme 
and ensure both that the European taxpayer gets better 
value for his money and that the food aid has a bigger 
impact on the development of the recipient countries. 
Suggestions for improving administration of food aid 
programmes 
9. The Committee believes that administration could 
be improved by: 
(i) better forward planning to forecast availabilities 
and needs for food aid and to relate these better to 
the common agricultural policy; 
(ii) making greater use, wherever possible, of 
Commission staff serving abroad such as the 
Delegates to supervise execution in the field; where 
such staff does not exist, there should be 
arrangements with the staff of the missions of 
Member States to carry out such supervision; 
(iii) channelling more aid through suitable charities 
drawn from Member States and specialized 
agencies. This would help the Community to avoid 
having to undertake too many small 
programmes; 
No C 310/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 11. 81 
(iv) change the present system of supply and shipment of 
food aid to make it more efficient and in particular 
to secure more competitive tendering for both 
supplies and shipping; 
(v) ensuring that some of these aid resources are used to 
develop suitable infrastructures and storage 
facilities in the recipient countries. 
General conclusions 
10. The Committee's general conclusions are that for 
the rest of this century developing countries as a group 
will become even more dependent on food imports than 
they have been in the past. Their difficulties can be 
Done at Brussels, 23 September 1981. alleviated by increased domestic production, but are 
unlikely to be solved thereby. Elaborate international 
cooperation and closer coordination within the 
international machinery will be needed if great hardship is 
to be avoided. The Community, as a major importer and 
exporter of foodstuffs, will have a considerable role to 
play in such international cooperation. It should equip 
itself now with both the policies and the organization to 
play this role effectively. Community food aid 
programmes will continue to be an important element in 
these policies. Apart from relieving distress in 
emergencies, the main purpose of food aid should be to 
promote development in Third World countries. With 
this end in view it should be designed to complement the 
other development efforts of the Community, and 
wherever possible, be used in schemes which will promote 
agricultural production in the recipient countries. 
The Chairman 
of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE