Isobel shares this latest news from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). Ed
The NFU welcomes the announcement from Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan that €500million is being made available to EU dairy farmers to compensate for the global market downturn, but has urged the Commission to allow Member States some flexibility in distributing it.
In the second package to be specifically aimed at the dairy sector, Commissioner Hogan confirmed that Member States would be allocated €350 million. The UK will receive €30,195,996 – the third highest share in the EU.
The NFU is calling for this money to be used strategically to support developing a more resilient and sustainable UK and EU dairy sector. National governments will also be able to ‘top-up’ this money by up to 100%, using treasury funding if member states choose to do so.
Voluntary supply management scheme
The Commission also announced a voluntary supply management scheme worth €150 million. This scheme will operate at a European level and be managed by the Commission. Private storage aid for skimmed milk powder will also be extended from September 2016 to February 2017.
Finally, Commissioner Hogan also confirmed that Member States could issue part-payments from October 2016 (75 per cent for BPS payments and 85 per cent for rural development payments), once administrative checks have been carried out.
NFU dairy board chairman Michael Oakes said:
“I am pleased that the Commission has once again shown support for our sector. However, in terms of a voluntary management scheme, UK farmers have reacted to market conditions accordingly with production already pulled back significantly – daily deliveries for the last two weeks of June nine per cent lower than the same period last year. This is without financial incentive. While grateful to the Commission for today’s announcement, we all want to see a sector that is competitive and market-orientated.
“It’s also essential that the Commission comes forward as soon as possible with the details on the conditions around the financial support. The UK government must be given flexibility to decide how this money is used and should consult with industry to utilise this money as soon as possible.”
Image: pepemczolz under CC BY 2.0
