PURPOSE : to amend the Regulation 1251/1999/EC establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops to include flax and hemp grown for fibre.
CONTENT : the proposal aims to include flax and hemp under the arable crop scheme, in order to solve certain problems in the market in flax and hemp grown for fibre.
- The aid for short flax fibre and hemp is extremely high in relation both to production costs and the value of the product itself. This has caused some speculative production. The areas down to these products have increased without any comparable increase in output or real market demand. The amount of aid granted should therefore be comparable to those for certain arable crops established by the above-quoted Regulation.
- The payments for fibre flax are made the same as those granted for linseed.
- Granting of the per-hectare aid for flax and hemp grown for fibre is made subject to certain conditions as regards cultivation.
- Specific measures are laid down for hemp to ensure that illegal crops cannot be hidden among the crops eligible for area payments, thereby disturbing the common market organisation in hemp.
- Straw production is linked to the area on which it is grown.�