"The primary sector is a national affair, it does not concern a single government or a single minister," emphasized the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Kostas Tsiaras, in a discussion held at the Delphi Economic Forum on Wednesday, describing the period the primary sector is going through as "critical" due to climate change, but also the reshuffles observed at a global level.
Commenting on the tariffs imposed by the United States on products from the European Union, the Minister of Rural Development noted that "there is scope for concern" but that it is a good opportunity to "re-approach the primary sector. Europe is facing a huge challenge," adding that "we have room to discuss the exemption of some products from tariffs, such as edible olives, olive oil, feta cheese, etc."
"As a European Union," he said, "it is not possible to talk about nutritional adequacy, to give huge amounts through the Common Agricultural Policy and not have a plan that specifies goals, sustainability and resilience of the primary sector."
He expressed the view that "we can rearrange our own export model," emphasizing that we can look to new markets such as India and the Arab countries, "places that are suitable for the export of Greek products," adding that "we always need to try to redefine goals."