Ireland has used up its initial national envelope of the new Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme for cheese after only one week of the scheme opening.
Last week, Ireland put some 2,190t of cheese into the scheme, according to latest statistics from the Milk Market Observatory. Other countries to use the scheme included Sweden, Netherlands, Italy and the UK with over 18,000t of cheese offered to Private Storage in the first month of the scheme.
Ireland has been allocated 1,835t under the scheme and, according to the Commission, when quantities applied for exceed the national ceiling, the excess quantity must be discarded. Ireland last week exceed its national envelope by some 355t.
As part of the package of measures announced by Commissioner Hogan in September and to help cheese makers who need more time to secure new market outlets and to relieve pressure on the dairy supply side, the Commission has opened the possibility of private storage aid for 100,000t of cheese.
This scheme foresees a breakdown of the total volume per Member State based on their respective cheese production.
Contracts are for a period between 60-210 days, with the rate of support fixed at €15.57/t of storage for fixed storage costs, plus €0.40/t per day of contractual storage. The last date for applications is 16 January 2016.
In September 2014, a PSA scheme for cheese was closed by the European Commission.
The measure which was created at that time in response to the Russian sanctions imposed at the start of August, the EU Commission opened PSA to provide storage for displaced butter and SMP, with the extension of the scheme to cover certain cheeses.
Despite only coming into effect on September 5 of 2014, the Commission’s decision to close the scheme for cheese was due to it being ‘disproportionally used by producers in cheese from areas traditionally not exporting significant quantities to Russia’.
Like public intervention, Private Storage Aid (PSA) is a traditional market management measure to reduce oversupply on the EU market and thereby help prices to recover.
The key difference is that with Private Storage Aid the Commission only helps cover the costs of storage and only for a limited period (normally 3-6 months), after which the product (which still belongs to the operator) comes back on to the market.
Like public intervention, PSA is a traditional market management measure to reduce oversupply on the EU market and thereby help prices to recover.
The key difference is that with Private Storage Aid the Commission only helps cover the costs of storage and only for a limited period (normally 3-6 months), after which the product (which still belongs to the operator) comes back on to the market.