Set-aside requirement for the 1996-1997 marketing year (derog. regul. 1765/92/EEC)

OBJECTIVE: To reduce the compulsory rotational set-aside to 10% for the 1996/97 marketing year only. SUBSTANCE: The support system for producers of certain arable crops established under Regulation No 1765/92/EEC stipulates that, to benefit from compensatory payments, producers must set aside a percentage of their land according to market developments. For the 1995/96 marketing year, this rate had been fixed at 12% (Regulation No 2990/94/EC). Since the introduction of this system, there is greater equilibrium in the cereals market due to the fall in production and the rise in internal consumption, resulting in a significant reduction in the intervention stocks of cereals. On the basis of a forecast for 1995/96, the equilibrium sought between production and internal and external outlets may be achieved with a production of 182 million tonnes in 1996. According to the Commission, this objective may be attained by returning approximately 700 000 hectares to cultivation. The Commission therefore proposed in this regulation that the set-aside rate be fixed at 10% temporarily (for the 1996/97 marketing year alone) compared to 12% for the previous marketing year. �