Producers to get less under Special Beef Premium plan
The precise amount of the reduction in premia payments has yet to be finalised, but it is expected to be within the scale of 10-15% of the 2002 premia when the overshoot of the national premia ceiling is finally assessed. The surge in applications under the scheme during the final weeks of 2002 was pushed by continuing speculation that 2002 will be either the reference year or one of the reference years for the base line in the EU Mid-term Review of the CAP for a transfer of support from headage to area base.
The decision to exempt producers applying for less than €50 head under the scheme from a cut in premia a protection for smaller producers has already been announced. This will have the effect of increasing the scale of cut applying to larger producers, making it more complex to predict the final outcome in advance of final calculations.
