In the week to 21 December a further 552 tonnes of SMP and 112 tonnes of butter was placed into Private Storage Aid (PSA). This brings the total amount of butter in storage to 20,905 tonnes while 16,375 tonnes of SMP is now in the scheme.
The latest SMP to enter PSA came from Spain and Germany. Germany has been the largest contributor of SMP having placed 9,084 tonnes into PSA this year. Meanwhile most of the butter that has entered PSA since it was opened in September 2014 has come from Ireland and the Netherlands.
There is also 100,803 tonnes of cheese in PSA. Cheese was included in the PSA as a way of managing the additional stocks which were expected to come about as a result of Russia banning the importation of dairy products from the EU. However the cheese scheme was closed before the end of September after it was flooded with Italian cheese.
