August 19, 2010

Spanish pig group seeks EU grain intervention stocks

The Spanish organisation of swine producers, Anprogapor, is calling on the European Commission (EC) to release current intervention stocks to ease the tense market as the EU grain prices are high.

Anprogapor said the EC predicts that the 2010-2011 grain harvest in the EU and worldwide is very similar to the levels of last season with a decline of 1.3% and that demand for raw materials for cattle in Spain is lower than last year at this time. This situation is not comparable to September 2007 when crops at EU and global levels were much lower and public and private stocks in the EU were zero.

"With these data, it is paradoxical that comparing the prices of wheat and corn in June 2010 to August this year, there are increases of 45% and 47% respectively," the group said.

It noted that since feed is the major cost in pig producing the above situation has increased the production costs by 30% for producing a kilogramme of pork. The farmer cannot transfer this increase to consumer price increases and they have not recovered from the losses that caused the commodity crisis of 2007 and 2008. This situation will lead to the closure of farms, thereby increasing unemployment in rural areas, the organisation said.

"The situation is aggravated every week and is due primarily to the retention and speculation that exist in the grain market leading to the farmer to pay more money for raw materials to feed their animals," it said.

Anprogapor calls on the government and political parties to urge the European Commission in the first coming meeting of the Grain committee to tender EU intervention stocks of cereals (6 million tonnes) to correct this speculation and retention in the grain market.