FOURTEEN European Union countries will face legal action after failing to convert hen battery cages into welfare-friendly cages.

A European Commission spokesman said the countries had been warned of the consequences of failing to comply by January 1.

He said Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain had all missed the deadline.

EU inspection teams were now visiting those countries to collect evidence of non-compliance to back up legal action and subsequent fines.

According to the commission, more than 46.7 million hens were still in conventional cages across Europe - 14 per cent of the industry.

UK farming unions spokeswoman Katy Lee said: "In good faith, the UK poultry industry has fully complied with the new laws on the welfare of laying hens and now we're told 14 member states failed to meet the deadline. This is unacceptable."

Foot-and-mouth

SEVENTY-ONE pigs were destroyed after foot-and-mouth disease was discovered on a farm in China last week.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Type O foot-and-mouth strain was discovered in the Badong county of the Hubei province.

It said the outbreak had been contained. There were reports that any spread of the disease could lead to a pork shortage and price surge.

Export tax

THE Argentine Government has been urged to suspend export taxes to help struggling farmers.

Argentine Agrarian Federation president Eduardo Buzzi said government aid was needed to help farmers cope with dry weather that has ravaged the nation's corn and soybean crops.

Mr Buzzi said the Government should suspend export taxes - in some cases totalling 35 per cent - for 180 days.

Cane payments MILLS in India's second-largest sugar-producing state will find it tough to pay farmers for cane supplies beyond the first week of next month.

A slowdown in exports has squeezed their margins, according to industry executives.

While the mills have promised not to stop cane-crushing operations this season, any delay in payments could result in farmers holding back supplies.

Record harvest

BRAZIL'S grain harvest hit a record 159.9 million tonnes last year and farm exports soared 24 per cent to $92.47 billion, according to official data released last week.

The harvest was 6.9 per cent more than the 2010 record.

Cropping country increased 4.7 per cent to total 48.7 million hectares, with soybean, corn and rice making up 90 per cent of production.

Key markets for Brazilian exports were Europe, China, the United States, Russia and Japan.