In view of the abundant supply and low prices for maize, the automatic mechanism calculating import duties was triggered, setting the import duty for maize, sorghum and rye at 5.27 euros per tonne starting Monday 27 April.
“This will ensure that European producers are not put at a disadvantage in the current market conditions”, the European Commission asserted.
The revised tariff, published on 27 April in the Official Journal of the EU, is calculated in accordance with Regulation 642/2010 (import duties for cereals). It stipulates that the import duty for the three cereals is based on the difference between a European reference price and the world benchmark price for maize - the US price, calculated as the CIF maize price (i.e. cost, insurance and freight) at the port of Rotterdam.
The price of American maize is falling sharply due to the collapse of oil prices, which has led to a drop in bioethanol fuel demand in the United States. A record maize harvest is expected in 2020/2021 at a global level. Freight costs have decreased. As a result, CIF prices for maize on the US market at the port of Rotterdam have fallen (149.84 euros per tonne, compared with 162.24 euros a year ago).
Since 1 July 2011, the representative CIF import price for sorghum and rye shall be equal to the representative CIF import price for maize.
The latest import duties for maize, sorghum and rye were in force between August 2017 and March 2018 (see EUROPE 11853/5). From 3 March 2018 until today, the duty was 0 euros per tonne. Import duties are set at 5.27 euros per tonne and will apply until the automatic calculation results in a new figure. Individual tariff quotas are not affected by the measure. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)