Latest news with #LuisPlanas
The Star
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Spain invests 8.4 mln euros to boost global presence of its food, gastronomy
BARCELONA, Spain, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Spain is investing 8.4 million euros (9.46 million U.S. dollars) in a fresh push to elevate its global standing in food and gastronomy through the sixth edition of its "Food Nation" initiative, authorities announced. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and Spain Export and Investment (ICEX) have signed a new cooperation agreement on Monday to fund the program through Sept. 30, 2026. The agreement "broadens the initiative's reach to cover the foundation of the food chain, such as livestock and fish farming," Maria Naranjo, director of the food industry at ICEX, told Xinhua on Friday. "We want a common agricultural policy for our farmers and our livestock breeders that is well-funded for the future and also has its own institutional personality," Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said in a Europe Day video message shared with Xinhua. Originally launched in 2020, the "Food Nation" project aims to reinforce Spain's image as a global supplier of quality, safe, and trustworthy food, while cementing its reputation as a leader in world gastronomy. The new edition will concentrate efforts on strategic markets such as China, Japan, Morocco and Mexico, while exploring new opportunities in Algeria and Serbia. To support Spanish food companies further, the initiative will establish advisory councils to deliver targeted market intelligence in key countries including China, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. A central pillar of "Food Nation VI" will be the use of gastronomy as a vehicle for promotion. Two high-profile international campaigns -- Eat Spain, Drink Spain and Restaurants from Spain -- will target consumers in 15 countries. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollar)
Agriland
08-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
‘No sustainability without profitability'
The Spanish Minister for Agriculture, Luis Planas has told the EU Commission that 'there is no sustainability without profitability for farmers'. Speaking at the commission's conference on the Vision for Agriculture and Food in Brussels this morning (May 8), the Spaniard explained, to heavy applause, how important profitability is for farmers. He said: 'I think that the vision has two basic meanings. The first is the fact that it provides a holistic view, on the challenges for the next future. 'The second one is that it has a dynamic view, looking to the future and looking at the challenges. 'I want just to add something, my first comment is very simple: We need profitability.' The minister praised the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, on the vision, and said that it is 'easier' and more business-orientated. 'I have to say too, that we have to keep our ambition from the overall point of view, that one or the other are not in contradiction,' Planas said. 'We can have a profitable farms, and we have to have sustainable farms for the future,' he added. Profitability According to Minister Planas, farming has 'no future' without generational renewal in the sector. Prior to the Spanish agriculture minister's address, Commissioner Hansen had told the conference that the EU has lost more than 3 million farms, and that there are 9 million farms remaining. Minister Planas told the conference that the challenge of generational renewal is directly linked to the challenge of innovation. The minister said: 'We need to review, that the future is linked with innovation. New things, for example artificial intelligence, it's here in the farming sector and we are one of the pioneers in artificial intelligence, perhaps even sometimes we don't know it. 'I think that it is good that this link between conservation, and generational renewal, and innovation is there. 'The vision is not perfect, but the vision has also some good points,' the Spanish agriculture minister added.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain defends closer trade ties with China after US warns against 'cutting own throat'
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will pursue closer trade ties with China in the interests of its citizens and of the EU, its agriculture minister Luis Planas said on Wednesday, rejecting a U.S. warning that moving closer to the Asian country would be "cutting your own throat". "We have excellent trade relations with China which we intend to not only continue having, but expanding," Planas told reporters from Ho Chi Minh City, where he was accompanying Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a trip to Vietnam and, on Friday, China. Planas had been asked about earlier comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who criticised Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo's suggestion that Europe should more closely align with China. "That would be cutting your own throat," Bessent told a banking event in Washington, adding that China would continue to produce too many goods and dump them on markets elsewhere. Sanchez and Planas are heading to Beijing later this week to forge closer economic ties amid the global fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy, seeking to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU and attract Chinese investment. Trump's punishing tariffs, which the president says are aimed at ending U.S. trade deficits with many countries, have upended the global trading order, raising fears of recession and wiping trillions of dollars off the market value of major firms. Planas said that the way the U.S. was negotiating with trading partners did not appear "respectful". He added that Spain defended its interests within the framework of the European Union, which sought dialogue with the U.S. to resolve differences. "We have trading partners all over the world. We believe in the existence of a rules-based multilateral trade," Planas said. The minister added that strengthening ties with Vietnam and China did not contradict the EU's trade principles.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain defends closer trade ties with China after US warns against 'cutting own throat'
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will pursue closer trade ties with China in the interests of its citizens and of the EU, its agriculture minister Luis Planas said on Wednesday, rejecting a U.S. warning that moving closer to the Asian country would be "cutting your own throat". "We have excellent trade relations with China which we intend to not only continue having, but expanding," Planas told reporters from Ho Chi Minh City, where he was accompanying Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a trip to Vietnam and, on Friday, China. Planas had been asked about earlier comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who criticised Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo's suggestion that Europe should more closely align with China. "That would be cutting your own throat," Bessent told a banking event in Washington, adding that China would continue to produce too many goods and dump them on markets elsewhere. Sanchez and Planas are heading to Beijing later this week to forge closer economic ties amid the global fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy, seeking to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU and attract Chinese investment. Trump's punishing tariffs, which the president says are aimed at ending U.S. trade deficits with many countries, have upended the global trading order, raising fears of recession and wiping trillions of dollars off the market value of major firms. Planas said that the way the U.S. was negotiating with trading partners did not appear "respectful". He added that Spain defended its interests within the framework of the European Union, which sought dialogue with the U.S. to resolve differences. "We have trading partners all over the world. We believe in the existence of a rules-based multilateral trade," Planas said. The minister added that strengthening ties with Vietnam and China did not contradict the EU's trade principles.
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Spain defends closer trade ties with China after US warns against 'cutting own throat'
MADRID, April 9 (Reuters) - Spain will pursue closer trade ties with China in the interests of its citizens and of the EU, its agriculture minister Luis Planas said on Wednesday, rejecting a U.S. warning that moving closer to the Asian country would be "cutting your own throat". "We have excellent trade relations with China which we intend to not only continue having, but expanding," Planas told reporters from Ho Chi Minh City, where he was accompanying Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a trip to Vietnam and, on Friday, China. Planas had been asked about earlier comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who criticised Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo's suggestion that Europe should more closely align with China. "That would be cutting your own throat," Bessent told a banking event in Washington, adding that China would continue to produce too many goods and dump them on markets elsewhere. Sanchez and Planas are heading to Beijing later this week to forge closer economic ties amid the global fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy, seeking to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU and attract Chinese investment. Trump's punishing tariffs, which the president says are aimed at ending U.S. trade deficits with many countries, have upended the global trading order, raising fears of recession and wiping trillions of dollars off the market value of major firms. Planas said that the way the U.S. was negotiating with trading partners did not appear "respectful". He added that Spain defended its interests within the framework of the European Union, which sought dialogue with the U.S. to resolve differences. "We have trading partners all over the world. We believe in the existence of a rules-based multilateral trade," Planas said. The minister added that strengthening ties with Vietnam and China did not contradict the EU's trade principles.
