Brussels, 10/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The regulation to provide a one-year extension (until 30 June 2017) for the exceptional safety net measures for fruit and vegetable producers affected by the Russian embargo on the import of agricultural products from the EU has been published in the Official Journal of the EU dated Saturday 11 June.
This the third consecutive year that the EU has provided aid to help producer countries adapt to the Russian embargo. The measures financed are withdrawal of produce from the market (for charitable purposes largely, or for animal feed or distillation), non-harvesting and green harvesting. This type of crisis management measure is deemed to be effective in dealing with surpluses of fruit and vegetables on the market.
As announced (see EUROPE 11554), EU financial aid will be significantly cut for 2016-2017. The quantity of fruits and vegetables eligible will fall by 30% compared with the current regulation which expires on 30 June, according to some sources.
Sweet cherries and persimmons have been added to the list of products eligible for support, since they are exported to Russia by some member states. The Commission says in the text that quantities have to be significantly reduced since producers have had time to adapt and to find new outlets. In order to better stabilise the market, the Commission also makes temporary EU financial aid available to the producers of all member states for one or more than one of the products covered by the regulation so long as the quantity concerned does not exceed 3,000 tonnes per member state. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)