Brussels, 22/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 22 November, France won an agreement of principle from the European Commission on the setting in place of three provisions (promotion, revenue stabilisation fund and CAP sectoral aid) to help the French poultry export sector. The aid plan amounts to around €20 million (public funds mainly, counting French emergency aid of €4 million) for 2014, but the page has definitively been turned on export refunds, as Stephane Le Foll, France's Agriculture Minister, was forced to admit.
As he had undertaken to do (after the occupation by poultry sector workers of the premises of Morlaix sub-prefecture), Le Foll had a meeting in Brussels on Friday with the European commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, to discuss the future of the poultry export sector. He was accompanied by a delegation composed of representatives of the French poultry sector (representing poultry trade associations and two export operators, Doux and Tilly Sabco) and elected representatives.
Promotional aid. France says that the commissioner agreed, in the context of the current Community provision for supporting promotion and without waiting for the outcome of more in-depth reform underway, to support a promotional programme as of 2014 for two French export operators (on the basis of a programme relating to quality certification).
Stabilisation fund. The commissioner confirmed the possibility of working on the setting in place, on the basis of CAP second pillar funding (rural development) and private co-funding, of a fund for the stabilisation of the revenue of poultry producers involved in export. This would allow account to be taken of the drops in revenue suffered by producers who face strong price volatility on the international markets (euro/dollar and euro/real monetary variations). The Commission has undertaken to work closely with the sector and the French authorities in order to set the fund in place as soon as possible from the first quarter 2014.
Article 68. An exceptional budget of CAP aid amounting to €15 million may be released in 2014 for livestock farmers to support the improved quality of exported products. The Commission says that France can decide - for 2014 only - in accordance with the transition rules of CAP reform, to grant sectoral support on the basis of Article 68 in order to improve the quality or the marketing of agricultural products, or to apply strengthened norms on animal welfare.
Furthermore, the Commission specifies that sector-specific measures may be developed by France, in the context of rural development funds, targeting investment measures, restructuring, and also training, advisory services, improved quality and marketing.
No go for refunds. Ciolos spoke of the many warnings made since July this year on the scheduled end of export refunds launched by the European Commission, and of the time that the companies concerned have had to adjust to their new environment. Between 2003 and 2013, France received €767.7 of the total €887.8 million paid by the EU to support poultry meat exports, the Commission says.
Market growth. Le Foll said his aim was to keep exports alive as they are a potential for development in large areas of the Middle East. No country, he said, wants to totally depend on any other country and there is a resolve to diversify supply sources. He also said he was open to the possibility of merging the Doux and Tilly Sabco companies. For now, he went on, an effort is being made to prevent one of the two from collapsing.
Ciolos also believes that the European poultry sector has all the assets it needs to make the most of market growth, in Europe and in the world. This can be seen by the rise in exports for poultry meat products without refunds - which represent most of European exports - and this goes to show how competitive the sector is. (LC/transl.jl)