Commission Regulation (EC) No 488/94 of 4 March 1994 adjusting the guarantee thresholds for tobacco from the 1993 harvest in Greece

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 488/94 of 4 March 1994 adjusting the guarantee thresholds for tobacco from the 1993 harvest in Greece
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco (1), and in particular Article 27 thereof,
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 provides for a system of premiums up to a maximum guarantee threshold fixed by each Member State for the various groups of tobacco varieties; whereas the guarantee thresholds for the 1993 harvest are listed in Council  Regulation (EEC) No 2076/92 of 30 June 1992 fixing the premiums for lead-tobacco varieties and the processing quotas allocated by group of varieties and by Member State (2), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 164/94 (3);
Whereas the guarantee thresholds were fixed by the Council on the basis of information and market forecasts available at the time; whereas, however, Greek production of flue-cured tobacco increased very rapidly under the provisions of the previous  common market organization and reached about 71 500 tonnes at the time of the 1992 harvest;
Whereas reducing Greek production of flue-cured tobacco from its 1992 level to that corresponding to the 1993 guarantee threshold, namely 30 000 tonnes, would have required a 58 % reduction in the production of flue-cured tobacco; whereas actual  production of such tobacco in 1993 significantly exceeded the guarantee threshold;
Whereas, on the other hand, estimated 1993 production of tobacco belonging to other variety groups was lower than the guarantee thresholds fixed by Regulation (EEC) No 2076/92; whereas the large discrepancy, either upward or downward, between actual  production in Greece and the guarantee thresholds can be attributed to the problems of switching from the old premium system to the new one; whereas, therefore, transitional measures should be adopted pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EEC) No  2075/92;
Whereas Greece's switch from the old to the new market organization can be facilitated by the allocation of additional guarantee thresholds for the flue-cured group; whereas the increase in the guarantee threshold for that variety group must be offset  by a corresponding decrease in the guarantee thresholds for other groups;
Whereas Greece has supplied estimates for the actual production of tobacco of the various groups; whereas the reallocation of guarantee thresholds and production quotas should not cause a reduction in the premiums to which producers were entitled by  virtue of the quotas fixed initially; whereas Greece should accordingly be authorized to fix higher guarantee thresholds for variety groups VI, VII and VIII than are laid down in the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 2076/92, and to reduce the guarantee  threshold for group I by a corresponding amount; whereas such a measure should not, however, increase the EAGGF expenditure originally laid down;
Whereas the additional quantities allocated retroactively could not be covered by a cultivation contract in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92; whereas special conditions for the sale of those quantities should therefore be  laid down, allowing producers to obtain the best prices;
Whereas this Regulation should apply as soon as possible to allow tobacco deliveries to be completed by the agreed dates;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Tobacco,