Commission Regulation (EC) No 2705/98 of 14 December 1998 on the determination of prices of adult bovine animals on representative Community markets and the survey of prices of certain other cattle in the Community

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2705/98 of 14 December 1998 on the determination of prices of adult bovine animals on representative Community markets and the survey of prices of certain other cattle in the Community
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1633/98 (2), and in particular Article 25 thereof,
Whereas, to help in determining the movement of prices on the market, the price on the representative markets of the Community must be derived from the prices recorded on the representative market or markets of each Member State for the various categories of bovine animals, taking into account the relative quantity of each of these categories and the relative size of the cattle population of each Member State;
Whereas the price recorded on the representative markets of the Community may be taken as the average of the prices of the bovine animals in question on the representative market or markets of each Member State; whereas this average should be weighted in accordance with the coefficients expressing the relative size of the cattle population of each Member State for each category marketed in a reference period;
Whereas the representative market or markets for each Member State should be selected on the basis of experience in recent years; whereas, moreover, where there is more than one representative market in a Member State the arithmetic average of the quotations recorded on these markets should be taken; whereas, in view of the experience gained, the markets of Luxembourg, Austria, Sweden and Finland should be excluded from the determination of prices in the Community because of the low representativity of the prices for live bovine animals in those Member States;
Whereas the price recorded on the market is based on the quotations, excluding tax, for live cattle; whereas, in certain Member States, the quotations are based on the quotations for meat; whereas a coefficient must therefore be fixed to convert these quotations;
Whereas, when the prices are recorded on the representative markets of the United Kingdom, allowance must be made for the relative importance of cattle farming as between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; whereas, to this end, the average price of adult bovine animals recorded on the markets of Great Britain and the average price of adult bovine animals recorded on the markets of Northern Ireland should be corrected by a coefficient reflecting the scale of production in these two regions of the United Kingdom;
Whereas to have a complete picture of the market situation at all times, it is necessary to know the prices of certain categories of cattle with a live weight of 300 kilograms or less;
Whereas Member States may, because of veterinary or health protection regulations, find it necessary to take measures which affect quotations; whereas, in such circumstances, it is not always suitable when recording market prices to take into account quotations which do not reflect the normal trend of the market; whereas, consequently, certain criteria should be laid down allowing the Commission to take account of that situation;
Whereas, to monitor better the Community market for categories of bovine animals other than adult bovines, provision should be made for a survey of prices for these categories; whereas for the Member States representative of these different types of bovine animals, Annexes III to V detailing the information to be provided for the price survey for each of these bovine animal categories should be established;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 610/77 of 18 March 1977 on the determination of prices of adult bovine animals on representative Community markets and the survey of prices of certain other cattle in the Community (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3270/94 (4), should be repealed;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,