EU plans refunds for pig exporters

STEPS are being taken by European Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to introduce export refunds for pig meat carcasses, cuts and bellies as a response to the difficult market situation.

Refunds would be payable for exports to all destinations. At the same time, the commission will suspend the private storage aid scheme set up last month.

Following the difficult situation in the EU pig meat sector, resulting particularly from high feed costs, a private storage scheme (APS) has been in place since October 29. Ms Fischer Boel said yesterday operators have shown interest in the APS scheme.

Aid had been requested for about 85,000 tonnes including 16,000 tonnes in Spain, 14,000 tonnes in Italy, 12,500 tonnes in Denmark and 12,000 tonnes in Germany.

Ms Fischer Boel said this seems to have stabilised prices, but margins over feed costs have dropped by about 65% to 70% in 2007 compared with the 2002 to 2006 average.

The drop of the dollar has also seriously reduced the competitiveness of EU exporters, whose main competitors are the US, Canada and Brazil.

As such, the private storage measure appears insufficient to remedy the difficulties faced by EU pig producers, she said.

The export refunds proposal will be presented to the EU Management Committee in Brussels on Thursday.

IFA Pigs Committee chairman Michael Maguire said the proposal was an important development as the private storage measures did not help to bring price stability.

“Fifty percent of pigmeat produced here is exported, with 25% going to Britain. This measure will be beneficial in moving our pigmeat to those markets,” he said.