# CE2004084EN.01066301.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/663 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/663

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(2004/C 84 E/0747)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0720/04

by Marjo Matikaineri-Kallström (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 March 2004)

Subject:   Export subsidies for oats

Subject:

Oats are grown on a very large scale in Finland. With the aid of export subsidies they have been exported to, among other places, Canada and the United States. At present the Commission is unwilling to pay export subsidies because cereals are in short supply in the EU area on account of last season's crop failures. Finland was one place where crops did not fail, with the result that farmers' grain bins are full of good oats.

Since oats are not used in central Europe, there is no significant market for them in southern Europe and other parts of the EU that would in any event need to import cereals. The Finnish oat harvest is at the moment lying in the farmers' grain bins because oats do not go to the EU regions that need cereals and the substantially lower export subsidies are insufficient to enable them to be exported to North America. It ought to be possible to export oats to North America because they are used there in massive quantities.

What specific measures will the Commission take, and within what time-frame, to enable oats to be exported to North America? Will it continue to pay export subsidies for oats and raise them back to their former level with a view to reviving full-scale exports to North America? If so, within what time-frame? This matter is urgent.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(2 April 2004)

(2 April 2004)

Contrary to all other cereals, the EU had a normal 2003/2004 harvest of oats both in terms of quantity and quality, leading to a certain export surplus from Finland and Sweden. Indeed, the EU cereal production in the EU decreased from 209 million tonnes to 183 million tonnes. For the first time in many years, the EU overall production fell significantly below internal consumption (about 190 million tonnes). This led to a critical supply situation, in particular for feed grains.

The Commission recognised that additional internal demand for oats is limited since oats have limitations in normal animal feed formulation. Consequently, the Commission opened the oats export tender on 15 October 2003, allowing subsidized exports as from the beginning of the oats harvest. Until 12 March 2004, the Commission granted export refunds for a total quantity of 247 840 tonnes. This quantity constitutes a major part of the oats surplus during the campaign.

Of course, and taking account of the EU cereal deficit, the Commission intends to encourage additional internal oats use in compound feed. In addition, the oats market is a particular one, where there is only one buyer (United States), and world prices are fixed in this market. Consequently, the Commission's management of the oats export tender intends to support oats prices in Finland and Sweden, but maximizing the competitive element in export tenders in order to have a minimal impact on world prices. The Commission intends to pursue this policy until the end of the 2003/2004 campaign. The oats export tender will be open until 24 June 2004.

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