Press Release: Milk: Five Member States face levies worth € 99 million for exceeding milk quota

Levies for Member States which exceeded their milk quotas come to just over €99 million for the 2008/2009 marketing year, according to a provisional calculation by the European Commission, based on Member States' annual declarations. Last year the total levy amounted to €340 million. Five Member States (Austria, Cyprus, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) exceeded their deliveries quotas. Altogether these account for an overrun of 348,400 tonnes, resulting in a levy of € 97 million. Italy exceeded its deliveries quota by 1.5%, the Netherlands exceeded by 1.4% and Austria by 1.2%. For quotas for direct sales to consumers, Italy and the Netherlands reported overruns totalling 7 500 tonnes, resulting in a levy on direct sales of € 2.1 million. Total EU milk production in the 2008-09 quota year (April- March) was 4.2 percent below quota.