Brussels, 19/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 15 July, the Cyprus delegation briefed the Council on the consequences for the poultry sector of an outbreak of Newcastle disease on the island.
In all, 190,000 birds have died from the disease or have been culled to stop the spread of the virus. “The consumption of poultry meat has fallen by around 30%, causing serious additional economic damage to the industry”, the Cypriot authorities stressed. The agriculture minister has called for EU aid to help the affected producers.
Dacian Ciolos, the European commissioner for agriculture, pointed out that the European Union has two possible courses of action: - co-funding (50%) to compensate producers for the obligatory destruction; - measures which can be activated in the event of market disturbances. However, Cyprus has stated that it is having problems funding its own 50% share of the producer compensation. “Additional aid to cover the co-funding costs of the disease is justified because the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus are not responsible for the appearance of the disease”, which spread from the northern part of the island, which is occupied by Turkey, he said. As regards the disturbance of the markets, the Commission believes that the data currently in its possession do not show any drop in prices and that trade with other member states and third countries does not seem to have been affected either. is therefore awaiting additional information before it makes the money available. (LC/transl.fl)