Draft texts for regulations drawn up in Brussels as part of the CAP Health Check have astounded AGPB, AGPM and the “COOP de FRANCE-Métiers du Grain”.

  In the event of a turnaround in market conditions, grain producers would suffer not only from substantial cuts in direct aid, but would also have serious doubt cast on the intervention mechanism, thus leaving the European Commission with almost discretionary powers to consider or ignore the situation of the market in the event of a drop in prices*.
 
Any such reconsideration of the mechanism would also mean that that operators would lose benchmarks on the behaviour of a major player on the grain markets, i.e. the Commission.  This lack of visibility would inevitably upset the efficient operation of the markets, which the Commission usually notes to its credit.
 
AGPB, AGPM and the COOP de France, taking this opportunity also to repeat that intervention has helped establish buffer stocks to supply the market in the event of crop shortfalls, must therefore express vigorous opposition to the plans of the Commission.
 
*For common wheat, intervention at a fixed price would be replaced by purchases through a bidding process (Dutch auction), with the European Commission deciding, depending on the prices offered by operators, how much would be available for these purchases.  For barley and sorghum, intervention would still apply, but only when initiated by the Commission, as is already the case for maize.  For durum wheat and rice, intervention would  be done away with altogether.
 
Contacts:    Pascal HURBAULT, AGPB - '  01 44 31 16 25
                   Anne KETTANEH, AGPM - ' 01 44 31 10 96
                   Yves BOULAY, COOP de FRANCE - ' 01 53 00 90 00