French pig farmers to receive aid
Michel Barnier, French agriculture minister, announced that the country’s pig producers will receive an emergency aid package of €2.5m to help counteract rising production costs and low prices.
“To fund social security tax cuts for the farmers, €500,000 will be made available immediately and the remaining €2m will be released to allow farmers to defer their payments,” Barnier told the French parliament on Tuesday.
He emphasised the importance of marketing French pigmeat products and asked the European Commission to introduce export refunds and private storage aid. The Farm Council will discuss this issue on October 22.
Protest meetings
Meetings were held this week in several towns in Brittany – the main pig producing region. Pig farmers condemned the retailers who they feel are generating large profit margins, while the pig producers are losing around €33 per finished pig. They have called on French supermarkets to increase their purchase prices, but however, not to transfer this increase to the customers.
Related Websites:
• French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
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