Luxembourg, 23/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg on Monday 22 October, several member states, including Poland, France, Ireland, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, called for the re-introduction of export subsidies for pork and pig products sold outside the EU. The European Commission is refusing at this stage to meet the request, noting that the impact of the market measures which has just been agreed would have to be awaited, namely EU aid for the private storage of pigmeat (see EUROPE 9527). Denmark and the Netherlands also oppose export subsidies.
France argues that the pigmeat industry is in crisis with sales prices slumping and farming costs rising due to the rising cost of cereals used as pig feed. France also mentioned the 11% cut in prices since 2006. The Commission made a first response to the crisis by agreeing to fund the private storage of pigmeat. France, Poland and other countries wanted the Commission to go further and temporarily restore pigmeat export refunds for sales outside the EU. Michel Barnier, the French farm minister, said that 30% of France's pigmeat production was exported outside the EU to countries like Russia, Japan and South Korea.
Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU agriculture and rural development commissioner, said she did not want to authorise export refunds as it would send a bad signal to the market, and would add to the problems facing farmers because they would see the EU aid as an incentive to produce even more meat whereas in reality they should cut back on the amount of pigmeat produced in line with demand. She added that she had huge reservations about the idea of using such a measure but recognised that EU farmers were put at a disadvantage by the extremely low level of the dollar on the world currency markets. (L.C.)