Brussels, 12/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Several member states will call once again, at the Agriculture Council on Tuesday 17 May, for Community funding to be made available to encourage farmers to reduce their milk production.
The regulation on the (voluntary) temporary reduction in milk production has been in force since 13 April but the Commission has yet to receive any information from the member states on the level of take-up. Countries may offer compensation in the form of national state aid to producers who agree to reduce production volumes. At the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on 10 May, several delegations, including that of France (leading the way), Italy, Spain and Romania, called for EU funding to provide an incentive for farmers to make use of this measure, making it more effective. Thus far, the Commission has given no details on available margins and is reported to have indicated that this could be discussed towards the end of summer. The Agriculture Committee asked the Commission to submit an estimate of the margins in June.
The Commission acknowledged that the milk market situation was not improving: production rose by 5.6% in January-February 2016 (an increase 1.7 million tonnes of milk), compared with the same period in 2015. Prices remain very low (28.6 cents per litre on average in March).
Also at the SCA meeting, a number of countries asked for early payments to be allowed this year (as happened in 2015).
Some delegations argued for reallocation of unused funds from the September 2015 package (€420 million in targeted aid) that was designed to address the crisis in agriculture. The Commission said that, by March 2016, 15 member states had declared total expenditure of €192.5 million (€107 million of which went to the milk sector), only 46% of the total funding made available. In these circumstances, the Commission does not see how it can ask for additional Community funding, when the September 2015 aid has not been fully used up.
Some delegations, such as that of Poland, asked when private storage aid would be re-opened for pig meat. The Commission stressed the need to wait for the right moment to do so. It noted that carcase prices are remaining stable, while 60% of previously stored meat has been returned to the market.
In the management committee, the Commission presented a draft regulation seeking to extend aid to the fruit and vegetables sector by one year. In the SCA meeting, several countries called for increases in quantities eligible and withdrawal prices. The Commission has already spent €262 million on the withdrawal of fruit and vegetables since Russia introduced its ban on the import of EU agricultural products and is looking to reduce the cost of this type of aid. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)