Flax and Linseed - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 252

growing flax. Due to this reason, the flax areas decreased from practically
214,000 ha in 1999 to 87,000 in 2002. After addition of new countries to EU
(i.e., Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic), flax areas again increased in
2004, but since this year, long-lasting decrease of flax areas has been again
observed [ 4 ]. For example in 2010, the processing industry collapsed in the
Czech Republic. All machinery was mostly sold to foreign countries and flax-
growing and breeding activities have been stopped. The situation with flax is not
so serious in western European countries although the areas also declined. Breeding
activities have been stopped in the UK, while in France (Terre de Lin) or in the
Netherlands (CEBECO, Van de Bilt), these are still carried out [ 158 ].
Also linseed production showed a slightly decreasing trend, while linseed areas
increased in the EU (Table 11.10 ). The average yield in the EU fluctuated between
0.65 and 1.17 t ha 1 [ 55 ]. In 2008, Canada increased linseed areas in approx.

100,000 ha followed by Belorussia and the Russian Federation. The share of EU
linseed production on the total world production reached 5.33 % in 2007 and only
3.66 % in 2008. In the Czech Republic, there has been a decreasing trend since 2005
with the share on the world production down from 1.7 to 0.06 % compared to EU
[ 159 ]. Seed of linseed varieties is imported into the Czech Republic, but the volume
is decreasing. In 2009, the import was reduced by 36 % equivalent to 1,854 tons
compared to 2008. The biggest importers of seeds for technical applications are
Ukraine (404 tons), the Russian Federation (324 tons), Belgium (238 tons), Ger-
many (187 tons), Slovakia (185 tons), and Poland (124 tons). Exports of linseed
from the Czech Republic increased to 3,040 tons in 2009 and focused mainly to
Austria (1,344 tons), Poland (702 tons), Slovakia (297 tons), France (192 tons), and
Italy (123 tons) [ 130 ].
The main barrier for finding a balanced proportion between flax and linseed
market is the lack of a common EU policy for all members. Subsidy rules should be
based on compromise approach between flax and linseed using clearly defined
evaluation criteria for both types. An example is given using the Alice variety in
the National Listing of Varieties in the United Kingdom is a typical example of
these barriers. It was not possible historically to grow linseed-type varieties and
claim the processing subsidy for its fiber production because only true flax (i.e.,
linen type) varieties were allowed on the EU Approved List. This resulted in a real
problem in developing multifunctional flax varieties for the UK: A notable example
of this was the Alice variety, which was entered on the National Listing in the UK
where it passed the DUS tests and VCU criteria. Subsequently, it was accepted as a
flax variety, but was only allowed entry on the EU Common Catalogue with the
footnote: “Not clearly classifiable as a linseed or flax variety in the absence of
established definitions for those common names and not uniformly classified by
Member States” [ 158 ]. The position was challenged with the commission, but the
above classification was upheld. This position meant that the variety was excluded
from the EU Approved List and was not eligible for processing aid as an eligible
flax variety and effectively could not be marketed as a fiber variety. While this
apparent barrier to development of dual-purpose varieties would no longer be
present if processing subsidies were removed (as there would no longer be a need