This article is from page 38 of the 2007-12-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
FIGURES released this week show that a total of 80 million litres of milk quota was offered for sale as part of the third Milk Quota Trading NYo tesa elon
Of these, more than 66 million litres was successfully traded, mak- ing it the highest proportion of quota sold to date under the lifetime of the controversial scheme.
Of 66 million litres traded, some 49 million litres was sold on the ex- change at prices ranging from 12 to 45 cent per litre, while 17 million litres was sold through the priority
pool at the maximum price of 12 cent per litre. “I am delighted that the third Trading Scheme has continued the trend established by the first two. Sixty and seventy per cent, respec- tively, of all quota offered for sale on the first two exchanges was sold, and today the volume traded has ex- ceeded 80 per cent,” said Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan.
“IT am _ particularly pleased that the improvements made in recent months have borne fruit, with many more sellers successfully disposing of their quotas after opting to accept one or two cent per litre less than their original offer prices in order
to match the Market Clearing Price. “This has been especially beneficial to producers in the northern half of the country. I am also pleased to note that quota is now being acquired by Category | producers in Co-op areas where access had previously proved oNbeerere Diam
Minister Coughlan also took the Opportunity to express her satisfac- tion with the operation of the Milk Quota Trading Scheme and to look to forthcoming challenges.
“IT think it has been clearly demonstrated that the ‘Trading Scheme has been a very effective tool in the allocation of quota to
active and committed dairy farm- ers, and will continue to be so in the future,’ she added.
“We must now look to new chal- lenges, and 2008 will not prove wanting in this regard. While much attention will focus on price and market trends, I look forward to dealing with the challenge presented by the commission’s proposals on the Health Check and the proposed quota expansion from April 1, 2008 and to working with the sectors to achieve the best possible outcome for Ireland.”
Details of the next exchange will be announced early in the New Year.