March 21, 2007

EU to press ahead with plans to scrap public corn buying

The EU reaffirmed its plans to scrap public buying of surplus corn even as a proposal to debate the issue was scuttled yesterday (Mar 20).

Public stocks funded by the EU currently stand at around 5 million tonnes

The EU's current system has served to encourage farmers to grow for subsidies rather than for the market. The proposal to eliminate the public stockpiles for corn was supposed to be debated at yesterday's meeting of the EU's 27 agriculture ministers in Brussels.

However, it was removed from the agenda due to unexpected resistance, a European Commission spokesman said.

The issue would be discussed at the next council meeting in Luxembourg on April 16-17, EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said.

Many farmers, particularly in Hungary, are simply producing corn to sell it to the EU without regard for actual demand, a spokesman said.

A compromise would have to be worked out but the phasing out of public corn may take longer than expected, he added.