The milk quota winners and losers

摘要

Quota broker Ian Potter looks at the European quota situation and points to a slackening in the milk price. So, the Intervention Board has finally found the batteries for its calculator and has worked out that we over produced by some 14 million tonnes last year. Give or take the odd litre, that's about 1.5% over quota and means a bill to the industry of ￡45 million. It now must work out which buying group has to pay what. To compare, the Danes overshot their quota by 0.4%, the Dutch by 0.1%, the Belgian's by 0.26% and the Irish by 0.3%. In everyone's favourite European Monetary Union terms, our fine is about 52m ecus. Their ecu fines will total about 6 1m; 1 6m, 3.1m and 5.1m respectively. Surprisingly the Italians have no levy.