EU Dairy Industry Joins Farm Producers Aided Due to Russian Ban
By Jonathan Stearns Aug 28, 2014 9:36 AM ET
The European Union dairy industry became the latest recipient of emergency EU farm aid as the impact of a Russian import ban spreads.
The European Commission said it would subsidize the private storage of butter, skimmed milk powder and some cheeses. The commission, the 28-nation EU’s regulatory arm, also extended the period for possible public purchases of butter and skimmed milk powder by three months until the end of the year.
“Price signals on the European dairy market show that the Russian ban is starting to hit this sector,” EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos said in a statement today in Brussels. “In a number of member states, export earnings are being lost and new outlets need to be found. The European dairy sector needs time and help to adapt.”
A Russian prohibition announced three weeks ago on imports of EU farm goods as retaliation for European sanctions against Russia over its encroachment in Ukraine has cut off about 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) of annual trade and left the bloc scrambling to help its producers. EU dairy exports to Russia last year totaled 2.3 billion euros, of which cheese accounted for almost 1 billion euros.
Earlier this month, the EU announced aid of 33 million euros for growers of peaches and nectarines and 125 million euros for producers of other perishable fruit and vegetables. That money came from an emergency European farm fund of 423 million euros this year.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-28/eu-dairy-industry-joins-farm-producers-aided-due-to-russian-ban.html