A vote in Brussels on Tuesday has suspended the Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme, which opened on 4 January this year.

Applications are suspended between 27 January and 2 February inclusive, while applications lodged since the 21 January that apply to the coming week will also be excluded.

Since the scheme opened, the European Commission has been monitoring the quantities entered against the market prices. A notice published on the British government website today reads: “This monitoring has provided the Commission with sufficient reassurance that the scheme has served its purpose.”

Almost 90,000t went into private storage under the scheme since the beginning of January: Ireland has used 1,392t of storage. By comparison, the PSA open from March to April 2015 had stored 67,000t. Most of the 90,000t, which corresponds to about 4% of the total EU monthly slaughter, has been stored for five months.

A spokesperson for Phil Hogan said: “The market has already reacted to the scheme. There was no price decline in January and the EU average price for pigmeat has even slightly increased in the last two weeks.

“The more meat is taken off the market, the more meat will eventually come back on the market. It is of essence to keep a balance where the scheme keeps benefiting producers. This turning point has now been reached.”

Under the original agreements of the PSA, the storage periods were for 90, 120 or 150 days, depending on the application made.

The pigmeat can be removed after 60 days if the product is intended for immediate export.