Written answers

Thursday, 26 April 2007

Department of Agriculture and Food

Milk Quota

5:00 pm

Liam Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans with her Department to have additional milk made available to farmers who wish to increase their quota levels in 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15637/07]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Milk Quota Trading Scheme has replaced the Restructuring Scheme for the 2007/08 quota year and is the primary means by which milk quota is acquired by dairy producers. Yesterday I announced the aggregate results of the second stage of the scheme and I am pleased to say that overall the second Exchange has built on the success of the first. A near 100 per cent increase in the volume of quota traded through the exchange demonstrates that the scheme is meeting the requirements of most milk producers in a time of change for the sector. I am pleased that the volume of quota made available to priority categories such as young farmers and farmers with quota of less than 350,000 litres has increased by more than 30 per cent.

In the second stage, a total of just over 177 million litres of milk quota was offered for sale, with almost 124 million litres traded. Of this total, 86.2 million litres was sold on the exchange at prices ranging from 9 to 28 cent per litre, and 37.5 million litres was sold through the priority pool at the maximum price of 12 cent per litre, with the exception of two Co-ops where the priority pool quota was sold at exchange prices of 9 and 11 cent.

My Department will now undertake a thorough analysis of the Milk Quota Trading Scheme's first year results, and a comprehensive review of the scheme will be carried out in consultation with the main farming organisations and ICOS before the detailed arrangements for quota trading in the 2008/2009 milk quota year are agreed.

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