Importance of agriculture safeguard clause stressed

The Association of Farmers has insisted with EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler on the importance of the safeguard clause to the Maltese farmer and expressed its disappointment at the fact that the measure was going to be used only as a last resort.

Negotiated at the eleventh hour, the safeguard clause guaranteed that imports would not distort local prices with obvious negative consequences for farmers, the association said.

Moreover, no system has yet been devised to qualify the meaning of "last resort", leaving the Maltese farmer in limbo.

"If large amounts of products are imported, bringing prices down to ridiculous levels before making use of the safeguard clause, then the clause is not needed and we might as well not have negotiated it at all because no importer in his right senses is going to risk bankruptcy by importing a shipload of cauliflowers if the market requirements are only of one container load."

Meanwhile, the GRTU, Association of General Retailers and Traders, also raised the issue of the safeguard clause, demanding detailed explanations as to how it would operate, during a special meeting at the Chamber of Commerce last week.

Maltese traders were not prepared to accept an extended period of restrictions under the excuse of the safeguard clause, it said.

The GRTU said Mr Fischler assured the GRTU that the safeguard clause would not be used to impose physical controls on imports. However, he could not give details on how it would operate in practice as the EU had no experience of how it worked, it said.

The GRTU presented a memorandum to Commissioner Fischler on the difficulties that banana importers faced, following Malta's acceptance of the EU's banana regime, which would jeopardise Malta's ability to import fresh bananas at a price acceptable to Maltese consumers.