EU Support Package Announced September 8, 2015 12:00 am The EU has announced a €500m support package to help farmers through the current slump in prices. Most of this will be targeted at the dairy industry, but there will also be some support for other sectors. The package comprises three elements; Liquidity support: the vast majority of the money will go into a ‘Dairy Fund’. How this will be distributed between Member States is yet to be decided, but it will be targeted towards countries that have been most affected by the Russian ban and have seen milk prices fall the most. Member States will have significant latitude on how to allocate their ‘national envelopes’ of funds – they will be able to come up with schemes that address specific issues for their dairy farmers. Member States will also be allowed to paying an advance on the BPS (up to 70%) after the 16th October. It is not clear whether any of the UK administrations would want (or indeed be in a position) to do this. Stabilising markets: there will be a new and improved ‘private storage aid’ scheme for milk powder and cheese. The scheme for pigmeat will also reopen. Calls from some countries to increase the milk intervention price were rejected however. There will also be increased spending on promoting EU produce. Supply chain reform: the issue of setting up futures markets, particularly for dairy products, will be looked into. There will also be an investigation into the relationships between producers and retailers. The package still requires legislative approval, but there is recognition that any delay is unhelpful. The measures could be in place by the end of the month.
