13th October 2001

News

New moves on beef and DA's

The Department of Agriculture is to seek an increase in beef export refunds at tomorrow's (Friday) meeting of the EU beef management committee following confirmation that Egypt has agreed to re-open its market for Irish beef.

The Minister's announcement last Sunday that he has succeeded in re-opening the market gave an immediate confidence boost to farmers and prices increased to 82p and 83p per lb. this week.

A lift in refunds is unlikely to be agreed at tomorrow's meeting but Joe Walsh has stressed that it will mark the beginning of a new campaign to deliver a level of export refunds that will give effective access to the market.

The Minister is confident however that his request to have 80 per cent advance payments under the various cattle schemes paid this year instead of the traditional 60 per cent advances will be approved at tomorrow's meeting.

Member states must await the publication of the EU regulation giving effect to 80 per cent advances before payments can be made. This will result in a small delay beyond October 16th in the commencement of cattle premium payments.

It was also confirmed this week that the Government is to seek EU approval next week to top-up Disadvantaged Area payments in areas of mountain land and in sheep areas where parts of holdings have been classified by the Department as mountain land unknown to their owners.

Many farmers who received Disadvantaged Area payment cheques in recent weeks were shocked to find that part of their holdings was classifed by the Department as mountain land, therefore qualifying for the lower rate of payment.

These farmers had believed their land was all classified as severely disadvantaged and therefore entitled to £70 per hectare, not the £45 per hectare paid on mountain land.

The confusion has arisen because many sheep farmers were never made aware that some of their land was classified as mountain.

A spokesman for the Department indicated this week that it may take two months to get Brussels clearance for the top-ups but that they will be applicable to the 2001 payments.

As revealed in the Journal last month savings of around £15 million will arise in the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme this year because 10,000 less farmers than originally estimated have applied for headage.

In another development, moves by Germany to re-open the issue of the 180 special beef limit for next year will be debated in Brussels next week at a meeting of the special agricultural committee of civil servants from member states. The Germans are trying to make retention of the 180 limit conditional on very strict environmental conditions.

The Department have confirmed that they have made a case to Brussels seeking the retention of the 180 special beef limit for beef farmers next year, on environmental and employment grounds.

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