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| European Measures Against E. coli Outbreak 08/06/2011 |
| (2011-06-08) |
| Last updated: 2011-06-09 16:00 EET |
European farmers were not as much hit by the E. coli bacterium, as they were affected by waning consumer trust. After vegetable sales dropped dramatically due to repeated boycotts, European farmers are to receive compensations from the EU. The initial amount was rumored to stand at 150 million euros, but the European Commission agreed to increase this sum following mounting pressure from EU member states. In an interview with Radio Romania, EU commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos said that a new proposal would be advanced shortly, most likely at the end of next week.
Dacian Ciolos: “The compensation will be shelled out according to the available budget and to the produce we select for compensation. For the time being, we’ve decided tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce are eligible for compensation. We will probably consider adding peppers and zucchini to the list. The next step will be processing all data and weigh the reported losses so as to avoid an over-compensation of farmers, since the degree of compensation will translate differently for certain farmers, as some will receive a higher amount than others. This is largely due to the fact that produce prices vary extensively from one EU region to another”.
Farmers who are part of professional farmers’ organizations are due to receive more money. Compensation however is not bound to cover losses entirely, but may vary based on the average vegetable prices reported for the month of June during the 2007-2010 period.
Dacian Ciolos explains: “Certain farmers reported losses of up to 60, 70 or 80% of the average market price, while others only 40 to 50%. In order to come up with a rescue deal that is simple and easy to implement, the Commission could not consider all the details and ask farmers for too many figures and documents. Thus we should consider the average market value on certain products when establishing the amount of payments to be shelled out.”
Romanian Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara gave assurances that no homegrown vegetables, including cucumbers, have been contaminated and that they pose no risk to consumers’ health. Against the backdrop of panic sparked by the E coli outbreak, Romanian authorities have reported estimated losses to border 9 million euros. Minister Tabara ensured that Romanian farmers would be compensated with up to 248 000 euros, amounting to 4.6% of the value of production sold last year.
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