The modification to the fixing regulation that decides the intervention ceiling for skimmed milk powder (SMP) and butter was published on Tuesday, meaning that the ceiling for SMP will rise from 109,000t to 218,000t and for butter it be lifted from 60,000t to 100,000t.
The effective doubling of the ceiling was one of the support measures decided upon by the council of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels in March. The measure aims to put a “floor” in the dairy market at a time when global milk prices are collapsing and dairy farmers are suffering the worst income crisis in years.
The original ceiling of 109,000t for SMP was reached on 1 April, at which time the Commission closed the buying-in of SMP at fixed price and opened the tendering procedure, the only way SMP has only been able to enter intervention since 1 April.
Any volumes bought in under the tendering process, which was open from 1 to 14 April, will not be counted towards the new limit.
Ireland last used the intervention support measure on 31 March, when it placed 269t of SMP into intervention. Since the beginning of 2016 Ireland has placed 7,058t into intervention, 5,215t more than the amount it put into intervention for the whole of 2015.
There have been no offers of butter by any member state so far this year.
Source: FarmersJournall
