EU Private Storage Aid

The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland
1a Lissue Walk
Lissue Industrial Estate (East)
Lisburn
BT28 2LU

19 May 2020

Stella McArdle
Clerk, Committee for Agriculture Environment & Rural Affairs
Northern Ireland Assembly
Room 244 Parliament Buildings
Ballymiscaw
Stormont
Belfast
BT4 3XX

 

Dear Stella

PRIVATE STORAGE AID

Thank you for your letter of 14 May 2020 regarding the Committee's request for information on usage of the Private Storage Aid (PSA) Schemes in the Meat and Dairy Sectors. On 14 May 2020 the European Commission published its latest monitoring report on the usage of PSA which opened for applications on 07 May 2020. The cumulative quantities offered for storage so far include 756 tons of beef (420 from Poland, 230 from the Netherlands, 56 from Spain, 30 from Austria and 20 from Ireland) and 20 tons of sheep and goat meat from Spain. No meat product has been offered for storage by UK operators.

LMC's remit extends primarily to the beef and sheep sectors but for the information of the Committee it is worth noting that the monitoring report from the European Commission also contains data on dairy products offered for storage for the minimal contractual periods. The cumulative quantity of Skimmed Milk Powder offered for storage so far is 1,200 tons (all from Germany); for butter the cumulative quantity so far offered is 15,343 tons (including 276 tons from the UK), and; for Cheese the cumulative quantity offered for storage so far is 28,344 tons (including 4,499 tons from the UK which constitutes the UK's total allocation for PSA for Cheese).

With regard to market impacts the meat sector is still facing huge market distortions from the continuing closure of most food service businesses and slow resumption of other industrial sectors in domestic and export markets (which are important users of animal products such as hides and skins). Recent tightening of cattle supplies available for slaughter, gradual easing of societal lock downs in some markets and significant investment in domestic promotions for beef and lamb consumption has helped to market some additional product to consumers through retail channels but with demand being slower to recover and significant additional costs to the supply chain as a result of social distancing measures for example a long road to 'business as usual' market conditions remains to be travelled.