This article is from page 38 of the 2008-01-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
FEBRUARY I has been set as the closing date for the receipt of ap- plications for the second stage of the 2008/2009 Milk Quota Trading NYo terns len
Speaking on Friday, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, announced the clos- ing date and restated her satisfaction with the outcome of the first stage of the trading scheme.
“I am pleased that the changes made to the operation of the trading
scheme contributed to a very high rate of trade before Christmas. I now want to ensure that the second ex- change is completed before the end of the current milk quota year, and I believe that the February | deadline will facilitate this,’ she said.
“A formal review will therefore not take place at this point, but, as was the case last year, a comprehensive review of the scheme with all stake- holders will take place after the sec- ond exchange has been completed.”
The scheme will once more com- prise a priority pool and a market
exchange. The maximum price for quota from the priority pool will remain at 12 cent per litre, and the maximum quantity available to in- dividual producers will remain at 80,000 litres.
A 3:2 ratio will again apply to the distribution of quota from the prior- ity pool to young farmers and Cat- egory | producers, and the option for sellers to sell at one or two cent per litre below their original offer price will be made available in the same 10 co-op areas as in the first stage.
The minister also took the opportu-
nity to alert milk producers to the ex- istence of a new Milk Quota Trader number, which is a unique identifier that has been assigned to all those who have participated in the trading scheme to date.
Applicants for the first stage of the 2008/2009 scheme will be advised of their Milk Quota Trader number by their co-op in the normal process- ing of the results, and those intend- ing to apply again for the second stage should quote this number on their application forms, in addition to the usual information.