October 25, 2011

Five EU countries surpass dairy quota

Five EU member countries surpassed their 2010/2011 dairy quotas by some 200,000 tonnes.

Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus and Luxembourg incurred a super levy of about €55.57million (US$77million).

However, despite the overrun of the quotas in these states, total EU production remains 6% below the total quota volume.

Commissioner for agriculture and rural development Dacian CioloÈ™, said: "Even though the decision to end the quota regime in 2015 was taken in 2008, member states must still apply the rules."

Denmark and the Netherlands exceeded both their quota for deliveries to dairies and their direct sales quota, while the other member states exceeded only their quota for deliveries.

In comparison, some 14 member dates recorded deliveries at least 10% below their quota.