21 June 2011

Defra has announced UK growers can now apply for EU aid provided in response to the E.Coli crisis. The department today announced UK growers should act quickly to apply for support under the new EU scheme to compensate them for their losses.

The scheme, worth €210 million across the EU, is open to growers of tomatoes, lettuce, endives, cucumbers, sweet peppers and courgettes and provides aid for growers whose produce was withdrawn from sale or not harvested following the market disruption caused by the German e.coli outbreak and the ongoing Russian trade ban. The scheme applies to products withdrawn from sale between 18 and 30 June 2011. The deadline for applications is 6pm on Thursday 30 June 2011.

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice said, “British salad growers are facing a tough time through no fault of their own and I urge those affected to act quickly. This funding is only available for a very limited time and it’s vital that UK producers don’t miss out.”

The Rural Payments Aagency (RPA) will provide information about the quantities of products withdrawn in the UK to the European Commission on 18 July 2011. The Commission will then use this information to determine whether the total number of applications fall within the financial limit set for these measures.

Defra announced in a release this morning that, “Any products notified for withdrawal will be subject to checks, which may be unannounced. Checks will include ensuring marketing standards are met, weighing and sampling, and will cover produce in the field as well as harvested produce. Growers will need to retain produce for inspection until 6pm of the next working day following notification, unless otherwise advised by RPA.”