The Ministers of Agriculture of the European Union (EU) approved this Tuesday in Luxembourg to permanently subsidize the Canary Islands in the import of powdered milk with vegetable fat.
The Archipelago will have a fixed community aid to the import of the dairy preparation of 210 euros per ton, with a limit of 800 tons per year and that will be granted retroactively to January 1 of this year.
The European Commission initially proposed to extend that subsidy that the Islands already benefited from until December 31, 2013, but the approved document allows that aid to continue to be received without a time limit.
On May 18, the European Parliament gave its approval to financially support the supply of powdered milk in the Islands with the adoption by a large majority of the report by the Portuguese socialist MEP Luís Paulo Alves.
This report argues that due to the structural deficit of milk in the Canary Islands, skimmed milk powder containing vegetable fat has been traditionally used for decades as a substitute for milk by local consumers, especially the most needy.
In addition, "this product has become a basic element of food" and will "be used only for local consumption", it adds, while highlighting that the supply of this dairy preparation "has generated a specific industry that creates employment and added value". For the moment, the only beneficiary in the Canary Islands of this import subsidy is the company JSP (José Sánchez Peñate S.A.).
With the support of this report, the Posei regulation (247/2006) is modified, through which specific measures are established in favor of the agricultural sector of the outermost regions (ORs).
Once approved by the Twenty-Seven, the document must be signed by the presidents of the European Parliament and the Council before its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
ACN Press
