Malta does not produce enough milk

Seven EU member states will be paying over €200 million (Lm85.83 million) in fines for exceeding their milk quotas in the 2006/2007 marketing year.

Malta is among the EU members that will not be paying anything: It was not only within its milk quota but even produced less milk than allowed by the EU.

According to statistics issued by the European Commission's Agriculture Directorate General yesterday for the 2006/07 marketing year, Malta produced 41,237 tonnes of milk, more than seven per cent less than its quota.

The island has 152 milk producers who are allowed to produce 48,698 tonnes of milk a year. In the eventuality that this quota is exceeded, producers will have to pay €28.54 (Lm12.24) per 100 kilo of overrun in order to be allowed to place it on the market.

The EU said that during the last marketing year, Italy had the biggest overrun, surpassing its quota by six per cent.

Germany is the biggest milk producer in the EU.

Cow's milk is marketed in the EU on the basis of quotas in order to achieve a balance between supply and demand and curb surpluse. Each member state receives two reference quantities (or quotas), one for deliveries to dairies and the other for direct sales to consumers. These quantities are broken down among producers (individual quotas) in each member state.

Where there is an overrun in the national quota, a levy is payable in the member state in question by the producers who have contributed to the overrun.

This levy has to be paid by producers of cow's milk on all quantities of milk or milk equivalent in excess of the quota marketed during a 12-month period, which runs from April 1 to March 31.

Each year before September 1, the member states must report to the Commission on the results of the application of the milk quota scheme in the previous period.