The European Commission has confirmed a range of measures for the European agri-food sector in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The package, formally revealed today, Wednesday, April 22, will see private storage aid for dairy (skimmed milk powder, butter and cheese) and meat (beef and sheep) products.
This scheme will allow the temporary withdrawal of products from the market for a minimum of two to three months, and a maximum period of five to six months. This measure will lead to a decrease of available supply on the market and re-balance the market in the long-term, the commission says.
This would allow operators to adopt “self-organisation market measures”. These sectors will be allowed to collectively take measures to stabilise the market. For example, the milk sector will be allowed to “collectively plan milk production” and the potato sector will be allowed to withdraw products from the market.
Storage by private operators will also be allowed. Such agreements and decisions would only be valid for a period of six months at the most. Consumer price movements will be monitored closely to avoid adverse effects.
The commission aims to have these measures adopted by the end of April. Beforehand, member states will need to be consulted, and vote on these measures. They are therefore subject to change, the commission highlighted.
Speaking today, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, said: “The consequences of the coronavirus crisis are increasingly being felt in the agri-food sector and this is why we have decided to take swift action, in addition to the measures already taken since the outbreak of the crisis.
The measures proposed are, in the present state of market developments, intended to send a signal aimed at stabilising markets and are considered to be the most appropriate for providing stability to future prices and production and thus, stable food supplies and food security.
“Today we are announcing a new and exceptional package of measures to support the most affected agri-food sectors by addressing already observed disturbances as well as future risks. I am confident that these measures will relieve markets, and show concrete results rapidly,” the commissioner added.
The full details of these proposals will be unveiled at the time of their final adoption.