site.btaTobacco Producers Postpone Protests Scheduled for Friday

Tobacco Producers Postpone Protests Scheduled for  Friday

Sofia, February 24 (BTA) - At this point tobacco producers will
postpone their protest actions scheduled for Friday, it emerged
after Tuesday's 3-hour meeting between their representatives
and Agriculture and Food Minister Dessislava Taneva.

New proposals have been drafted about the distribution of funds
for tobacco producers, as well as new conditions, but these
cannot be applied as early as this year, Taneva specified.
However, the partners know in what direction they are headed so
that the distribution of funds, which will decline by 2020, will
be fair.

The tobacco producers admitted they are ready to accept the idea
that most of the 170 million leva allotted subsidies go to the
smaller producers. In this way 70 per cent of the funds will
be used for Oriental tobacco and 30 per cent for the other
varieties. This proposal, however, is not final, and the
decision will be made at the next meeting, scheduled for March
5.

This is also when the idea of introducing a limit on payments
for the individual varieties will be discussed and the reference
three-year period will be changed by the exclusion of the
controversial 2009. Bulgaria has an agreement with Brussels for
calculating the aid for tobacco producers on the basis of what
are called reference years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, it
turned out that thanks to this, there are people who have not
produced tobacco since then but receive subsidies by selling
harvests in the name of others with purchase contracts.

It is assumed that "hollow volumes" appeared precisely in 2009,
i.e. unproduced tobacco which has been "entered in the books"
and for which subsidies are being paid.
* * *
Later in the day, the Central Operative Bureau of the Movement
for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) discussed subsidies for tobacco
producers. The movement believes there are problems with the
subsidies and the main problem is the reference period. Aliosman
Imamov said the EU policy is to promote the phasing out of
tobacco production, not to promote it. He added that his party
has tried on numerous occasions to change the reference period
so that the currently working tobacco producers could receive
subsidies directly. The MRF called on the power holders to take
measures to change the reference period. He is adamant that this
branch of agriculture has a future in Bulgaria.
VI/BR


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