The European Commission authorizes a 150 million euro aid plan for the French poultry sector due to the impact of bird flu

France

Published Feb 14, 2023

Tridge summary

The European Commission (EC) authorized France on Monday to grant 150 million euros in aid to the French poultry sector for the economic impact of bird flu. Brussels approved the French aid plan, which will last until December 31, 2024 and will support processing companies and the specialized poultry industry in particular. The grants, approved in the context of avian influenza during 2021 and 2022, may be applied for by processing companies, egg packing centers and specialized service firms, including transport, cleaning or animal feeding in the poultry sector and that have suffered the direct impact of this disease. The Commission assessed the scheme under State aid rules and concluded that the measure is 'necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy the serious disruption of the French poultry sector caused by avian influenza'.

Original content

Brussels considers that the amount of aid "is limited to the minimum necessary" to compensate for the additional costs incurred by companies in the poultry sector for the damage caused. In Spain, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has not designed any type of generic aid for the sector, despite the fact that last year there were seven major outbreaks since the start of the season 22-23 on July 1. The latest case has been in Catalonia, where an outbreak of avian flu (the H5N1 virus) is being investigated at a fattening turkey farm in Arbeca (Les Garrigues, Lleida), while waiting for the Ministry of Agriculture to confirm the counter-analysis carried out. . According to the Acció Climàtica department, the first test has been positive and 37,000 turkeys and 50,000 quails (87,000 birds in total) from four farms (three turkeys and one quail) have already ...

Source: Agroinformacion