Tendering system faulted for big cuts in dairy export refunds
Adjudication of the first tenders for export refunds since the system was introduced in early April resulted in bids on only 3,000 tonnes of Skim Milk Powder and 300 tonnes of butter, out of a total of 37,274t of SMP and 6,752 of butter submitted by traders.
The rate of export refund accepted was €47/100kg for SMP and €158/100kg for butter - respectively 27% and 11% cuts in the refunds.
Anything tendered above these levels was rejected. The new tendering system has been brought in by the commission following criticism from the EU Court of Auditors that the old fixed refund system was detached from market realities.
ICMSA president Pat O’Rourke said the decision was ‘an unqualified disaster’, which he blamed on the introduction of tendering, and the EU Commission’s flawed management of enlargement. “The Minister for Agriculture and Food, in his role as President of EU Council of Agricultural Ministers, must act immediately and decisively to rectify this shambles and ensure the stability of dairy markets.”
