Brussels, 07/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Given the strong opposition to the European Commission proposal to remove, with effect from this year, maize from the list of cereals for which intervention is available, member states are seeking a gentler way to overcome the difficulties encountered on this market. At the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) meeting on 5 March, member states indicated that they were willing to agree to the idea, put forward by the German presidency, of capping the amount available for total procurement (without reducing the current intervention price). SCA experts will return to this issue at their next meeting on 12 March.
Well aware of the opposition of the majority of EU member states to the original proposal to abolish intervention (see EUROPE 9355 on the outcome of January's SCA meeting), the German presidency suggested a compromise under which, during the next marketing year, there would be a ceiling of 700,000 tonnes on total procurement of maize, then the abolition of intervention over two years. This timetable would allow stock to be taken of the use of this market management tool for cereals as a whole, during the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) health check. This idea of relatively swift abolition of intervention was supported particularly by the United Kingdom (which re-iterated its criticism of this kind of Community aid), Denmark and Sweden. Some member states, such as France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Portugal and Spain, not directly affected by the proposal but which keep a close eye on any measure that could have an impact on the cereal market, liked the idea of the ceiling compromise. Even Hungary (which holds 90% of intervention maize) would appear to have accepted this idea, on condition that the ceiling level was raised. On the other hand, there was no question, according to France, Belgium and Spain, of trying to anticipate decisions on intervention in the cereals sector before the CAP health check. By speaking about the possible issues to be addressed in the health check, the German presidency has awakened concerns and risked seeing a number of countries oppose compromises being worked towards.
In addition, the landlocked countries directly affected by this proposal, Hungary at their head, along with Austria, Romania and Bulgaria, felt that the problem of public stocks of maize was above all linked to present economic conditions and not structural, as the Commission was suggesting. These countries emphasise that stocks should gradually fall, thanks to openings offered by the production of bioethanol and animal feeds. This point of view is not shared by the Commission, which forecasts that public stocks of maize will stand at 5.6 million tonnes (over 3.5 million tonnes to come), meaning that maize will represent 66% of all intervention cereals. (lc)