Brussels, 01/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - For the first time ever, the price of skimmed milk powder in the EU is higher than the price of skimmed milk powder manufactured in Switzerland and therefore an €832/tonne import duty will be levied on skimmed milk imported from Switzerland from 1 February 2008 onwards.
Under an automatic system built into the 1972 free trade agreement between the EU and Switzerland, such levied are introduced under Protocol 2 of the agreement to monitor and adapt where necessary the annual reference prices for farm commodities. The reference prices determine the amount of import duty and export refunds on bilateral trade in processed agricultural products. In the past, skimmed milk powder was always more expensive in Switzerland (which, under this price-matching mechanism, used to impose import duty on skimmed milk powder from the EU). The hike in farm commodity prices in the EU (particularly dairy products and cereals) has now reversed the situation. The only farm product for the moment that is cheaper in Switzerland than the EU is skimmed milk powder. (L.C.)