THEY DEMAND PAYMENT OF PENDING POSEI AID SINCE 2009, THAT EXCEED THE 11 MILLION EUROS.

The livestock sector of the Canary Islands accuses the regional government, at a meeting held in Lanzarote, of being the final blow to the production of bovine and goat milk in the Islands. The lack of payment of State aid from Posei for the last four years has led livestock farmers to a very large debt with their suppliers., that makes its continuity impossible.

In a joint statement with feed manufacturers and marketers and milk processing companies, The ranchers demand an immediate solution from the Canary Islands Executive. The unpaid amounts, according to the calculation made by the sector, could exceed the 11 million euros, and would affect bovine milk producers, goats and sheep from the seven islands.

The sector assures that since the year 2010 to date, In the Canary Islands, they have been enduring a spectacular increase in costs derived from the high international price of cereal and livestock feed., with the consequent suffocation of companies that assume annual increases of between 50 and the 120% of production cost.

Among other measures, State aid from Posei included subsidies to the producer of cow's milk from 82 EUR per tonne, and the goat milk producer 144 EUR per tonne, approved by the European Commission in April 2009. Until the year 2011 only a small percentage of these amounts have been paid, what in 2012 are fully pending payment by the Government of the Canary Islands, responsible for its management and payment.

Producers miss greater involvement from the regional government in the face of a generalized crisis situation with no known history, which has led to a very significant drop in consumption and prices, which mainly affects the sheep and goat subsectors, who also face competition from foreign imports, heavily subsidized by the Specific Supply Regime (REA).

To the above, Small businesses and the self-employed find enormous difficulties in accessing any type of financing., since both SOGAPYME in Las Palmas and SOGARTE in Tenerife, Canary Islands guarantee companies, expressly exclude the livestock sector as possible beneficiaries of their guarantee lines.

Livestock farmers carry large debts with importers, marketers, cooperatives, feed manufacturers, Health Defense Groups, medicines, Treasury and Social Security.

Sector spokespersons add that, subsidiary, The island councils can assume the payment. Because these amounts were approved as state aid, They consider that there is no legal impediment for the island entities to make payments, enabling an economic item or processing a specific credit operation due to an emergency procedure.

Also, The ranchers remembered that on the date of 1 of March, The Official Gazette of the Canary Islands published the order of 19 February's 2013 which includes the modifications made to the Posei, that marginalizes the goat sector for the fifth consecutive year, So it relegates a 85% from your financial file to possible additional financing, that is, funds from the Ministry and Government of the Canary Islands, knowing that they are not going to collect it as has been happening since 2009.

In the opinion of the businessmen gathered in Lanzarote, The first Canarian livestock subsector cannot continue to be deceived in this way., to which is assigned the 3,775% of the funds, when, due to its economic weight, the 19,66%.

In fact, the sector insists, based on its economic weight in the primary sector as a whole, livestock would have a 29,5%, of the total of the POSEI Community financial statement, and perceives only a 12,13. This translates into the perception of 24,2 million euros annually when, according to the calculation they have made, could correspond to around 59 million.