Farmers seeing deteriorating conditions

Production costs for farmers were rising even as product prices fell, Opposition rural affairs spokesman Noel Farrugia complained in Parliament yesterday.

He was speaking during the debate on an opposition motion urging the government to keep its promises and save the industry from the disaster it was facing.

Mr Farrugia gave several examples of how costs were rising, such as a Lm25 administration fee being charged by veterinary pharmacists on every medicinal.

The rising costs, Mr Farrugia said, were resulting in deteriorating living conditions for farmers, and in the erosion of competitiveness. Was the tax on medicinals a way to make up for the loss of revenue from border inspection points?

Referring to beef production, he said that the cost of skimmed milk powder given to animals had gone up from Lm14.75 to Lm18. Farmer who used to take their animals for slaughter used to get around Lm80 per qantar for fresh beef. That had now dropped by about half.

It was no wonder that slaughtering had decreased. But that meant that meat imports had risen, and the price of imports had gone up sharply after EU membership. Indeed, many importers had shifted production to varieties which meant lower quality.

To make matters worse, farmers were no longer getting the subsidy for half the income tax they paid.

Turning to the slaughterhouse, Mr Farrugia said funding was inadequate and had already run out.

He was informed that the beef line at the slaughterhouse did not meet EU standards. What works were required to achieve the desired standards?

In Gozo, the slaughterhouse was closed for seven weeks for modernisation. Yet four months on, it was still closed.

Mr Farrugia said milk producers were not doing well. They were only getting 18c per gallon over the quota and not 32c. Costs were rising so fast that many were simply giving up.

The situation was common in other areas, such as the poultry producers.

It was a situation which could not go on. Urgent and serious government measures were needed to remedy matters - improving living standards for farmers and ensuring that consumers continued to enjoy good quality local products.

Parliamentary Secretary Francis Agius said the agriculture sector had problems, but there was no disaster.

Indeed, the problems had existed for years and now, thanks to EU membership, they were being solved.

Statistics which had just been issued showed an improvement in pork production in 2004 over 2003.

Consumers could find whatever fresh and frozen products they wanted.

The problems that the industry was facing stemmed from the need to restructure for greater efficiency. A transition period was needed until the situation came back to normal.

The opposition had to understand that Malta was operating in a free market and many expenses were being made to improve produce and products.

Dr Agius said government activity to modernise the agriculture sector could be seen from various angles. Legislation, for example, had been extensively modernised and this process would continue with regulations on, for example, labelling and the registration of medicines.

Dr Agius said that a low, one time fee of Lm25 was being charged for the registration of medicine. This would help in the drawing up of policies on how cows, for example, were fed.

The government was generously assisting farmers through a range of subsidies, some given in conjunction with the EU. But Mr Farrugia had not mentioned any of them.

While farmers were being assisted to improve their production, consumers, thanks to liberalisation, had a wider choice of food products than ever before.

A campaign was in progress for consumers to buy fresh Maltese produce.

Dr Agius said there was no crisis in the milk industry, which had managed to withstand competition from imports. The Maltese product had improved considerably following a Lm2 million investment by Malta Dairy Products.

Dr Agius observed that the opposition, which was supposed to be the alternative government, had mentioned no new policies for the sector.

The motion was defeated after a division. Other speakers will be reported tomorrow.