28. 2. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 49/85 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No . . . 
of . .. 
amending Regulation (EEC) No 426/86 on the common organization of the market in 
products processed from fruit and vegetables 
(90/C 49/54) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee, 
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 426/86 (J), as last 
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1125/89 (2), introduced 
a system of production aid for certain products processed 
from fruit and vegetables; whereas the chief objective is to 
enable products processed from raw materials produced in 
the Community to be sold at prices which compete with those 
charged by third countries; whereas, to this end, the 
production aid must aim to compensate for the difference 
between the producer prices for raw materials harvested 
within the Community and those obtaining in the major 
competing non-member countries; 
Whereas, in the case of certain products Community 
production of which accounts for a substantial share of the 
Community consumer market, provision must be made for 
this compensation to be reduced, taking account of the 
quantities traded and the prices recorded; 
Whereas, in certain Community production areas, products 
processed from tomatoes are a particularly sensitive sector; 
whereas provision should be made for an additional 
adjustment of the minimum price and the aid according to the 
dry weight content of the raw material; 
Whereas, in respect of dried grapes, in order to make 
producers aware of the requirements for disposing of and 
marketing their products and for improving the 
competitiveness of those products, the existing system of 
production aid should be gradually replaced by a new system 
of aid based on the specialized cultivated area; whereas the 
cultivation aid is to be introduced gradually over a 
transitional period of three marketing years, to compensate 
for the reduction in the production aid; whereas the 
conditions for the transition should be laid down; 
(') OJNoL49,27. 2. 1986, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 118, 29. 4. 1989, p. 29. Whereas, in order to encourage more rapid disposal of 
certain products and thus to avoid prolonged storage, which 
is detrimental to quality, provision should be made for 
degressive financing of storage costs over the marketing year, 
the minimum price paid by the storage agencies for the 
products bought in by them under the intervention 
arrangements should be reduced and the costs of excessively 
long periods in storage should no longer be financed, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 426/86 is hereby amended as 
. follows: 
1. Article 2 (1) is replaced by the following: 
'1. A system of production aid shall apply to the 
products listed in Annex I, Part A and obtained from 
fruit and vegetables harvested in the Community, 
without prejudice to the specific provisions for dried 
grapes in Articles 6 and 6a.' 
2. In Article 3 (2), 'sultanas and' is inserted before 
'currants'. 
3. Article 4 (1) is replaced by the following: 
'1. The minimum price to be paid to producers shall, 
without prejudice to the measures taken pursuant to 
Article 2 (3), be calculated on the basis of: 
(a) the minimum price applying during the previous 
marketing year; 
(b) the movement of basic prices in the fruit and 
vegetables sector; 
(c) the need to ensure normal market disposal of fresh 
products for the various uses, including supply to 
the processing industry. 
In the case of tomatoes, the minimum price to be paid to 
the producer shall be adjusted according to the dry 
weight content of the raw material. However, this 
provision shall not apply to tomatoes used in the 
manufacture of peeled tomatoes.' 
4. Article 4 (2) is replaced by the following: 
'2. The minimum price for sultanas, currants, dried 
muscatel grapes and dried figs valid at the start of the 
No C 49/86 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 90 
marketing year shall be increased each month, starting 
with the third month of the marketing year, by a 
degressive amount corresponding to storage costs. 
However, there shall be no increase for the last month of 
the marketing year.' 
5. Article 5 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
1. The amount of the aid shall be so fixed as to enable 
the Community product to be marketed. In calculating 
the amount of the aid, without prejudice to measures 
taken pursuant to Article 2(3), account shall be taken in 
particular of: 
— the amount of the aid fixed for the previous 
marketing year, adjusted to take account of changes 
in the minimum prices referred to in Article 4, 
— the difference between the price fixed for the raw 
material in the Community and that obtaining in the 
major competing non-member countries, and, 
— in the case of products, Community production of 
which accounts for a substantial share of the market, 
trends in the volume of external trade and in the 
prices obtaining in such trade, where the latter 
criterion results in a reduction in the amount of the 
aid. 
2. The aid shall be fixed in respect of the net weight of 
the processed product. The coefficients expressing the 
relationship between the weight of raw material used and 
the net weight of the processed product shall be defined 
on a standard basis. 
3. Aid shall be granted to processors only for 
processed products which: 
(a) have been produced from raw materials harvested in 
the Community, for which the applicant has paid at 
least the minimum price referred to in Article 4; 
(b) meet minimum quality requirements. 
4. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a 
proposal from the Commission, shall adopt general rules 
for applying this Article. 
5. The Commission shall fix the amount of the aid 
before the beginning of each marketing year, in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 22. 
The coefficients referred to in paragraph 2, the minimum 
quality requirements and the other detailed rules for 
applying this Article shall be adopted in accordance with 
the same procedure.' 
6. Article 6 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 6 
1. Aid shall be granted for the cultivation of sultanas, 
muscatel grapes and currants which are dried for 
processing. 
The amount of the aid shall be fixed per hectare of 
specialized area harvested on the basis of the average 
yield per hectare of the said areas. In addition, the 
amount of the aid shall be fixed to take account of: — the need to ensure that the areas traditionally used to 
grow the said crops are maintained, 
— the outlets available for these dried grapes. 
This aid shall be introduced gradually during the 
1990/91, 1991/92 and 1992/93 marketing years, in 
accordance with Article 6a. 
2. If the specialized areas used for the production 
of dried grapes exceeds a maximum guaranteed 
Community area, the amount of the aid shall be reduced 
for the following marketing year according to the extent 
by which that area is exceeded. The maximum 
guaranteed area shall be the average of the areas in the 
Community used for the crops referred to in 
paragraph 1, over the three marketing years from 
1987/88, 1988/89 and 1989/90. 
3. The aid shall be granted once the areas have been 
harvested and the products have been dried for 
processing. 
4. The cultivation aid shall be deemed to be an 
intervention measure intended to stabilize the 
agricultural markets, within the meaning of Article 3(1) 
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 (*). 
5. The Commission shall fix the amount of the aid, 
the maximum guaranteed area and the detailed rules for 
applying this Article in accordance with the procedure 
laid down in Article 22. 
6. Where applicable, the Commission shall establish 
the extent to which the maximum guaranteed area has 
been exceeded and shall determine the resultant 
reduction in the amount of aid. 
(*) OJNoL 94, 28. 4. 1970; p. 13.' 
7. The following Article 6a is inserted: 
'Article 6a 
1. The minimum price to be paid to the producer for 
sultanas, dried muscatel grapes and currants shall be 
gradually reduced during the 1990/91, 1991/92 and 
1992/93 marketing years. 
This price shall be reduced during the 1990/91 
marketing year by about 30%-in relation to the price 
fixed for the 1989/90 marketing year. 
2. The amount of the production aid shall, during the 
three marketing years referred to in paragraph 1, be 
fixed so as to enable Community produce to be 
marketed. When fixing the amount of aid, account shall 
be taken, in particular, of the amount of movements in 
the minimum price referred to in paragraph 1 and, if 
necessary, of trends in processing costs assessed on a 
standard basis and in the minimum import price referred 
to in Article 9. 
The aid shall be fixed in respect of the net weight of the 
processed product. The coefficients expressing the 
relationship between the weight of raw material used and 
28. 2. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 49/87 
the net weight of the processed product shall be defined 
on a standard basis. 
The aid shall be granted only to processors who do not 
process a quantity of dried grapes of these varieties 
corresponding to a percentage of the quantities 
purchased. The aid shall not be paid in respect of the 
quantities in question. 
The aid shall be granted to processors only for processed 
products which: 
(a) have been produced from raw materials harvested in 
the Community for which the applicant has paid at 
least the minimum price referred to in Article 4; 
(b) meet the minimum quality requirements. 
3. The cultivation aid referred to in Article 6 shall, 
during the three marketing years referred to in 
paragraph 1, also be fixed so as to compensate for the 
reduction in the minimum price referred to in that 
paragraph. 
4. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a 
proposal from the Commission, shall fix the percentages 
provided for in paragraph 2. 
5. The minimum quality requirements referred to in 
point (b) of the fourth subparagraph of paragraph 2 and 
the other detailed rules for applying this Article shall be 
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 22.' 
Article 8 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 8 
1. The agencies or legal or natural persons approved 
by the Member States concerned, hereinafter referred to 
as "storage agencies", shall purchase, during the last two 
months of the marketing year, sultanas, currants and 
dried figs produced in the Community during the current 
marketing year, provided that the products comply with quality standards to be determined. Sultanas and 
currants shall be purchased up to any limits laid down 
pursuant to Article 2 (3). 
2. The storage agencies shall purchase the quantities 
offered at the minimum price applicable at the beginning 
of the marketing year, reduced by 8 %. 
3. The products purchased by the storage agencies 
shall be disposed of on terms which do not jeopardize the 
balance of the market and which ensure equal access to 
the products for sale and equal treatment of purchasers. 
Where products cannot be disposed of on normal terms, 
special measures may be taken. 
4. Storage aid shall be granted to storage agencies for 
the quantities of products which they have purchased 
and for the actual duration of storage. However, the aid 
shall cease to be granted at the end of a period of eighteen 
months following the end of the marketing year during 
which the product was purchased. 
5. Financial compensation equal to the difference 
between the purchase price paid by the storage agencies 
and the selling price shall be granted to the storage 
agencies. This compensation shall be reduced by the 
amount of any profits resulting from the difference 
between the purchase price and the selling price. 
6. The Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall 
adopt the general rules for the application of this 
Article. 
7. Detailed rules for the application of this Article 
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid 
down in Article 22.' 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member 
States. 
Done at Brussels, . . . 
For the Council