Brussels, 03/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has recently adopted a draft regulation to extend for a further three years (from 2002/03 to 2004/05) the current potato starch quota system. For 2002/03 to 2004/05, the European Commission is proposing to keep the same potato starch quotas as in 2001/02, namely: Denmark 168 215 tonnes; Germany 656 298 tonnes, Spain 1 943 tonnes; France 265 354 tonnes: the Netherlands 507 403 tonnes; Austria 47 691 tonnes; Finland 53 178 tonnes; Sweden 62 066 tonnes, making the total quota 1 762 148 tonnes. The cost for the Community budget is estimated at EUR 234 million a year: EUR 194.79 million for the premium for starch manufacturers (set at EUR 22.5/tonne) and EUR 39.21 million for the compensation payment for potato producers (EUR 110/tonne).
These potato starch measures come under the Common Organisation of the cereal market and include a quota for each Member State divided into subquotas for starch manufacturers; a direct payment for potato producers; and a premium for starch producers up to the threshold of their subquota (with the aim of compensating for structural disadvantages vis-à-vis cereal starch producers). Under Agenda 2000, the compensation for the fall in potato starch prices was set at a higher level than cereal starch aid but in order to make the budget neutral, the quotas were scaled back for the 2000/01 and 2001/02 marketing years.