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Abolish maize intervention, says EC
EU - The system of public intervention purchases for maize should be abolished from the 2007/2008 marketing year, says the EC.Otherwise, intervention stocks, which are bought and stored at public expense, are forecast to rise to as much as 15.6 million tonnes by 2013. The EU intervention system for cereals is a single price of €101.31 per tonne which farmers receive for selling their cereals into public storage, if they cannot find an outlet on the market.
It is currently applicable to bread making wheat, durum wheat, barley, maize and sorghum. But possible outlets for soaring stocks of maize are limited, and maize is unsuitable for long-term storage. Furthermore, ending intervention for maize would allow the EU cereals market to achieve a new balance and see intervention regain its original purpose as a safety net.
The EC believes that this proposal will enhance the integration of the EU cereals market. It will help maize grown in surplus Central European regions to regain its competitiveness, both domestically and on world markets and will also help boost the competitiveness of pig and poultry production in these regions by reducing the cost of feedstuffs.
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Source: NutraIngredients
