Ireland facing fine for exceeding milk quota

CtrlSource

From today's Irish Times

"Ireland is one of seven EU governments facing fines amounting to a combined €340 million for exceeding milk production quotas, with Italy again the main culprit, the European Commission said today.

Italy accounted for almost half of the overrun in the 2007/2008 season and has been fined €160.6 million as a result of exceeding its delivery quota by 5.7 per cent. Germany was responsible for 30 per cent of the overrun and has been fined €101.7 million.

Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Netherlands all exceeded their delivery quotas and are also expected to be fined. Draft figures drawn up by the Commission showed the levies covered a total EU milk surplus of 1.22 million tonnes, against a fixed quota for deliveries to dairies of 139.6 million tonnes. Italy, which has often complained its EU milk quota has been set too low, called the situation "scandalous".

"Italy has asked to increase its quota by 1 million tonnes a year and will continue to ask for it until this scandalous situation is changed," a spokesman for Italy's agriculture minister said.

Draft figures drawn up by the Commission showed the levies covered a total EU milk surplus of 1.22 million tonnes, against a fixed quota for deliveries to dairies of 139.6 million tonnes. Last year's combined milk quota fine, known in EU jargon as the superlevy, came to around €221 million -- much lower.

"The total levy to be paid is substantially higher in 2007/2008 than in 2006/2007 because adjusted deliveries increased more in some countries than the respective national quotas," the Commission said in a statement. "This was most notable in Cyprus, Germany, and the Netherlands," it said.

If an EU country produces milk beyond its fixed quota, the mechanism used to balance supply and demand in each member state, farmers in that country must pay a fine levied at a base rate multiplied by each kilogram of quota surplus. There are two types of milk quotas for each EU country -- one for deliveries to dairies and one for direct sales to consumers, and these quotas are further shared among farmers.

The superlevy dates from 1984 and was designed to dissuade countries from exceeding annual milk production quotas. EU milk quotas are due to be phased out in 2014/15."

Additional reporting: Reuters


Apart from our undoubted legal obligation to pay this fine, does anyone else feel that these quotas are a bit outdated? i fail to see any common good in paying exorbitant fines or any fines at all, particularly when we're a bit cash-strapped as a nation right now.

i was going to suggest that some of the money could be spent to export the milk to troubled regions in the Third World, but since it's milk, i guess that'd be a bit stupid too!

turgon

CtrlSource wrote: »

i was going to suggest that some of the money could be spent to export the milk to troubled regions in the Third World, but since it's milk, i guess that'd be a bit stupid too!

Well I would imagine they could process it into milk powder, or make some nutritional product out of it, and then ship it dewn south. Seems like a waste of milk, I know some farmers even pour certain amounts into rivers and that instead of using it cas they will get fined. With all the world hunger it seems like a waste.

Scofflaw

turgon wrote: »

Well I would imagine they could process it into milk powder, or make some nutritional product out of it, and then ship it dewn south. Seems like a waste of milk, I know some farmers even pour certain amounts into rivers and that instead of using it cas they will get fined. With all the world hunger it seems like a waste.

Well, except that we subsidise milk production through CAP, so selling it into the poorer countries would mean undercutting their local production with our surpluses. So not only can they not break into our markets, but we cut them out of their own. That, in turn, means that it's not worth their while growing food (instead of commodity cash crops) - and when commodity crop prices fall...well, etc.

cordially,
Scofflaw

CtrlSource

Scofflaw wrote: »

Well, except that we subsidise milk production through CAP, so selling it into the poorer countries would mean undercutting their local production with our surpluses. So not only can they not break into our markets, but we cut them out of their own. That, in turn, means that it's not worth their while growing food (instead of commodity cash crops) - and when commodity crop prices fall...well, etc.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Couldn't it be distributed for free by NGOs?

brianthebard

CtrlSource wrote: »

Couldn't it be distributed for free by NGOs?

Still has a detrimental affect on native markets and produce.

enda1

As far as I remember hearing was that milk quotas are being phased out, no? I heard about a gradual increase in quotas and ultimate abolishment by some date like 2012 or something. Anyone?

Scofflaw

enda1 wrote: »

As far as I remember hearing was that milk quotas are being phased out, no? I heard about a gradual increase in quotas and ultimate abolishment by some date like 2012 or something. Anyone?

Apparently so:

"The superlevy dates from 1984 and was designed to dissuade countries from exceeding annual milk production quotas. EU milk quotas are due to be phased out in 2014/15."

Also:

"Current rules would keep quotas in place until 2015, but the European Commission has said this will be re-visited as part of a dairy market review in 2008."

Not sure what happens after that, mind you. I think the quotas are being phased out along with the price support, which makes sense, since the quotas are there to stop the price support from encouraging too much milk production. Another one from the Common (and Ridiculous) Agricultural Policy.

cordially,
Scofflaw

CtrlSource

brianthebard wrote: »

Still has a detrimental affect on native markets and produce.

i am sure there are areas where it could be of benefit, areas where the populace wouldn't be in the market to begin with

TheEnforcer

Wait a minute I thought we were in the middle of a food crisis.

Now this, the EU food mountains, and the english channel must be a few metres higher with all the food dumped in there. Along with the CAP, where millions of farmers are paid not to produce.

And then we have "help the africans", the world is over populated and on and on,

What a farce.

TheEnforcer

Scofflaw wrote: »

Well, except that we subsidise milk production through CAP, so selling it into the poorer countries would mean undercutting their local production with our surpluses.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Look into the corn laws in england. Introduced so that english farmers would be undercut, forced out of business and then have to move into the cities where just by coincidence the industrial era was taking off and they needed cheap labour.

How quickly you forget.

Scofflaw

TheEnforcer wrote: »

Look into the corn laws in england. Introduced so that english farmers would be undercut, forced out of business and then have to move into the cities where just by coincidence the industrial era was taking off and they needed cheap labour.

How quickly you forget.

Well, I'm not quite that old. Besides, I think you might have that the wrong way round - the Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to keep English corn prices high.

Unless of course my Alzheimer's is at me again.

cordially,
Scofflaw