September 29, 2006

EU to tighten requirements for intervention corn

The European Union grains management committee agreed Thursday (Sep 28) to tighten the eligibility requirements for corn offered to government intervention stores.

Since EU enlargement, the (corn) market has become unbalanced and intervention stocks are piling up, a notice released by EU officials said.

Currently, EU corn stocks for intervention purposes total 5.1 million tonnes, with Hungary, the new member, a major contributor.

To make sure that the corn is suitable for long-term storage, an adjustment of the current quality criteria is required, the notice said.

The new regulations, which would apply in November, has lower allowances for moisture content, percentage of broken grains and grains overheated during drying. A maximum specific weight would also be introduced.

The proposal has yet to be formally adopted by the Commission, but would be made official once published in the official EU journal. 

The following is a listing of the criteria changes.