Industry

As part of the Grand Investment Plan 2018-2022 (a broad plan of investments in various sectors of the economy to promote environmental efficiency, employment, innovation…) the French government and Ministry of Agriculture and Food developed, in partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF), the National Initiative for French Agriculture (INAF). Supplementing regional initiatives taken by […]

The Agro-food small business accelerator is a personalized support program that aims at assisting small and medium agro-food sized businesses that demonstrate strong growth potential, particularly with working on innovative and international projects: a target of 30 businesses per session is set. A call for interested parties to join this program was launched early this […]

French horse-related organizations have officially finished their work on a comprehensive guide to horse welfare in France. The manual on best practices in the horse industry has now been submitted to the French Ministry of Agriculture, where it will be evaluated by the scientific agency analyzing all food safety and animal husbandry policies, and then […]

Starting January 1, 2017, the labeling of the origin of milk in dairy products and of meat in ready prepared meat products in France is required on the products. This measure is a trial experiment that will be in place for two years, and will later be reviewed by the Commission of the EU to […]

After a strong year of exports in 2014-2015, exports of French Cognac liquor are continuing their already strong season of exports over the 2015-2016 period. Cognac exports increased 4.9% by volume and 10.4% in value, equaling 173 million bottles for a value of 2.6 million euros ($2.9 million). Helping push this large increase in exports […]

French exports of wine and spirits worldwide saw large increases in both volume and value in 2015, and the United States was at the top of the list. Total worldwide French wine and spirit exports increased by nearly 9 percent in value last year, with a whopping 28% increase in exports to the United States, […]

Futurol, a program for the development of advanced ethanol, has announced two pilot projects for the innovative new type of ethanol that’s less disruptive of the food industry. What makes this type of ethanol so special? The source of biomass it uses. Unlike what’s being called 1st generation ethanol, this type of ethanol uses plant […]

The French Ministry of Agriculture has released a report, Agriculture Innovation 2025, which proposes 30 different innovative projects for competitive agriculture that respects the environment. The projects are organized along three broad priorities – making agriculture help in the fight against climate change, using new technologies to advance agriculture, and uniting the fields of research, […]

The French Ministry of Agriculture has released its guide on the appropriate, limited use of chemical pesticides on fruit products in orchards. The Ecophyto Fruit Guide is part of the French government’s overall Ecophyto plan to reduce and improve the use of pesticides and other chemicals on agricultural products in a move toward a more […]

Overall, 150 perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants are cultivated in France. A great number of these plants are inherited from the Charlemagne period in the eighth century (768-814) when he ordered that a selection of aromatic and medicinal plants be cultivated in the King’s gardens. The tradition has remained, especially in some regions of France. […]