Press Release: EU agrees co-funded disposal scheme for Irish pigmeat affected by dioxin scare

The Member States gave their backing to further exceptional market support measures for the Irish pork market in line with the Presidency conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 11-12 December 2008. Last week the Commission already introduced, as an urgent support measure, a private storage aid scheme for up to 30,000 tonnes of pigmeat. That EU-funded storage scheme, which was formally adopted by the Commission on 18 December, 2008, covered meat coming from pigs reared in Ireland on farms that have not used any contaminated feed. In addition, in view of the particularly difficult market situation in Ireland, the Commission proposed a further exceptional market support measure in the form of a disposal scheme for animals blocked on farms that have used contaminated feed as well as for certain pigmeat stocks held in slaughterhouses or still owned by the slaughterhouses. The EU will co-finance the purchases at an average rate of 50 percent. Additionally, today's management committee backed a private storage aid scheme for Northern Ireland. Under this scheme, up to 15,000 tonnes of pigmeat can be stored for up to 6 months in Northern Ireland. The scheme follows the same approach as that introduced last week for Ireland.