The figure was agreed at discussions this morning taking place during an informal meeting of EU farm ministers. It was tweeted from the meeting room by Minister Simon Coveney.

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“The support package is 20% higher than the 2009 support,” Minister Coveney said, referring to the aid given in the last dairy market crisis. “The Package reflects the majority of the demands presented by Ireland to the Commission,” he added, welcoming the outcome of the meeting. However, he warned: “It is also crucial that we continue to keep the situation under review and to deploy other available market measures, if necessary, including a temporary top-up in intervention prices.”

He and his officials will now decide how to divide the money among farmers, promising to seek input from stakeholders in the process. The main focus is expected to be on dairy farms. Member states have flexibility on this and some have already indicated that their funding will not be spread among all farmers but instead targeted at those hardest hit by the drop in prices.

Today’s meeting allocated €420m of the €500m overall package as national envelopes for member states to distribute in a special direct payment to help farmer incomes. It is likely that the remaining €80m will be used for market support measures and promotion.

  • Today’s meeting also agreed a doubling of APS price for skim milk powder and a resumption in APS for cheese and pigmeat. It is expected that the storage period for skim will be fixed at one year. “The increase of more than 100% in the rate of private storage aid for skimmed milk powder is a very significant announcement,” Minister Coveney said. “Together with the longer storage period now provided for, this will have a real impact on the market.”
  • The meeting also rubber stamped the advance of up to 70% in 2015 Basic and greening payments which can now be paid from 16 October.
  • It is expected to agree that €30m will be devoted to ensuring that EU milk will be made available for the nutritional needs of refugees arriving in the EU.

    • Meanwhile, the third leg of last week’s package – a lengthy list of suggested reforms – will be developed more slowly over coming weeks and months.