Selling skimmed milk powder or butter for public intervention (public storage)

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Summary

Do you want to sell skimmed milk powder or butter as part of public intervention?

Where the market situation so requires, the Paying Agency of Wallonia (OPW) of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment service of the Walloon Public Service (SPW) can buy skimmed milk powder or butter and store them on behalf of the European Union. This assistance measure, called public intervention, makes it possible to assist the sector by guaranteeing its operators the purchase of their production at the intervention price.

PRODUCTS FROM APPROVED DAIRY ESTABLISHMENTS

Skimmed milk powder or butter intended for public storage:

must be from dairy establishments previously approved;
may be sold in accordance with two procedures:

fixed price, also called intervention price,
by tender.

Where the skimmed milk powder or butter is manufactured in Flanders or in another Member State of the European Union, the seller must provide a certificate attesting that the skimmed milk powder or butter offered for public intervention is produced in an approved dairy establishment of the European Union.

When the skimmed milk powder or butter offered for public storage has been manufactured in Wallonia, no certificate needs to be provided. In this case, the OPW directly verifies that the products have been manufactured in an approved establishment.

See the ‘Linked content’ section to find out more about the approval of dairy establishments in Wallonia.

TWO WAYS OF SELLING THE PRODUCTION OF BUTTER OR SKIMMED MILK POWDER

1.Through a fixed-price offer to sell:

Each year, between 1 February and 30 September, the Commission provides for the purchase of 109 000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder and the purchase of 50 000 tonnes of butter at a fixed intervention price.

To sell the production of skimmed milk powder or butter at a fixed price, see the conditions and procedure for selling at a fixed price below. Complete the form in paper format or directly online.

2.By means of a tender:

The European Commission may decide to purchase skimmed milk powder or butter via a tender procedure. It shall then publish an implementing regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union, specifying, among other things, the periods during which a seller may submit its tender.

To sell in the context of a tender procedure, see the terms and conditions and the tender procedure below. Then complete the form and return it to the OPW's Agricultural Structures Directorate, by email or registered post (see "Contacts" section).

Key points

SELLING SKIMMED MILK POWDER

You can sell skimmed milk powder produced by an approved dairy establishment under two procedures:

1- AT A FIXED PRICE

Skimmed milk powder can be sold:

at a fixed price (intervention price): EUR 169.80/100 kg,
during the intervention period: from 1 February to 30 September,
within the quantitative limits set by the European Commission: 109 000 tonnes.

2- BY TENDER

Once the quantitative limit has been reached, the European Commission may decide to continue its purchases through a tender procedure, via the publication of an implementing regulation.

SELLING BUTTER

You can sell butter produced by an approved dairy establishment under two procedures:

1- AT A FIXED PRICE

The butter may be sold:

at a fixed price (intervention price): EUR 221.75/100 kg,
during the intervention period: from 1 February to 30 September,
within the quantitative limits set by the European Commission: 50 000 tonnes.

2- BY TENDER

Once the quantitative limit has been reached, the European Commission may decide to continue its purchases through a tender procedure, via the publication of an implementing regulation.

In detail

Target audience – details

Seller: any natural or legal person established and registered for VAT purposes in the European Union:

who submits:

a tender in the context of the fixed-price purchase procedure, or
a tender as part of the procurement by tender procedure

identified as a partner with the OPW

Stockholder means any natural or legal person established and registered for VAT purposes in the European Union,

in charge of the warehouse where the skimmed milk powder is stored or in charge of the cold store where the butter is stored,
selected by the OPW via a public procurement procedure,
identified as a partner with the OPW.

Conditions

IN SUMMARY:

Conditions of eligibility of operators
Limited periods and quantities
Admissibility of a bid or tender
Seller’s guarantee
Production and product quality requirement
Manufacturing certificates and approvals
Packaging and palletisation

CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC INTERVENTION

The seller must be:

a natural or legal person established and registered for VAT in the European Union,

identified as a partner with the OPW.

The stockholder must be:

a natural or legal person established and registered for VAT in the European Union,
the person responsible for the warehouse in which the skimmed-milk powder or butter is stored,
selected by the OPW via a public procurement procedure,
identified as a partner with the OPW.

LIMITED PERIODS AND QUANTITIES

Each year, between 1 February and 30 September, the Commission provides for the purchase at European level of a maximum of 109 000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder and 50 000 tonnes of butter at a fixed price .

In order to respect the limit on these quantities, the Commission may decide to:

end the purchase at a fixed price,
apply an allocation coefficient to the quantities offered,
reject ongoing bids.

For sales by tender, the Implementing Regulation published in the Official Journal of the European Union specifies the tendering period and the various possible tendering sub-periods.

ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

An offer to sell is admissible if:

it is submitted by a seller established and registered for VAT purposes in the European Union;
it reached the OPW during the intervention period from 1 February to 30 September.
it complies with the procedure for submitting a tender described in page 5 of the Circular on the Sale of Skimmed Milk Powder or Butter (see Relevant documents section).
It includes:

detailed contact details of the seller,
the type of product and the total quantity offered for sale,
for each batch

the production date,
the dairy establishment, its approval number and the Member State of production,
the production number,
the quantity offered,

the place of storage at the time of submission of the offer to sell.

it concerns a quantity of at least 30 tonnes of skimmed milk powder or butter manufactured during the 31 days preceding the day on which the offer to sell is received,
it provides proof of guarantee provided by the seller.

See point 5.2. on page 6 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-milk powder or Butter (see relevant documents section) for full details of the admissibility requirements.

The conditions for the admissibility of a tender are identical and described in point 6.3. of pages 7 and 8 of the Circular on the purchase of skimmed-milk powder or butter (see Relevant documents section).

SELLER’S GUARANTEE

The seller must lodge a guarantee before the end of the deadline for submitting bids or tenders with the OPW's Agricultural Structures Directorate.

It aims to guarantee:

the maintenance of the bid/tender;
delivery of the skimmed-milk powder or butter to the warehouse designated by the Agricultural Structures Directorate within the time limit shown on the delivery note;
compliance with quality, packaging and palletisation requirements.

Full details of the guarantee, its amount, form and content can be found in point 7 of pages 8, 9 and 10 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed Milk Powder or Butter (see Relevant documents section).

PRODUCTION AND PRODUCT QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

The OPW purchases exclusively unsalted butter:

manufactured from raw materials produced in the European Union;
meeting production and quality requirements defined by the European Union.

See paragraph 9.1. of pages 11 and 12 of the Circular on the Purchase of Butter (see 'Useful Documents' section).

Similarly, the OPW buys premium-quality skimmed milk powder:

manufactured using the spray process and
obtained from cow’s milk originating in the European Union, produced in an approved establishment, in particular.

See point 9.1. of pages 11 and 12 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder (see relevant documents).

MANUFACTURING CERTIFICATES AND APPROVALS

When the skimmed milk powder or the butter offered for public storage was produced in Wallonia, no certificate needs to be provided to the OPW.

Where the skimmed milk powder offered for public storage has been manufactured in another Member State or in Flanders, the seller shall provide a certificate issued by the competent authority of the Member State or region of production.

The certificate shall certify that the skimmed-milk powder or butter offered is produced in an approved establishment in the Union from raw materials produced in the Union.

For skimmed milk powder, the adjustment of the proteic content must be made, where appropriate, in the liquid phase.

The seller must provide the original of the certificate:

by post to the Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW, Chaussée de Louvain, 14, 5000 Namur;
within the following 35 calendar days:

on the day of receipt of the tender by the Agricultural Structures Directorate, or
by the deadline for submission of the tender.

You can send a scanned copy of the certificate by email (interventions.opw@spw.wallonie.be) but the original must be sent by post at the same time.

If the 35-day time limit is exceeded and the OPW has not received your original certificate, the purchase is cancelled for the quantities concerned.

See page 12 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder and the Circular on the Purchase of Butter for more information (see the Useful Documents section).

PACKAGING AND PALLETISATION

The skimmed milk powder must be packaged in new, clean, dry and undamaged bags of 25 kg.

The butter must be firm and packaged in new and clean cartons. The cartons must be resistant in order to protect the butter throughout its transport.

Skimmed milk powder and butter must be delivered on new pallets suitable for long-term storage.

All the requirements concerning packaging and palletisation are detailed:

for butter: in paragraph 9.3 of pages 12, 13 and 14 of the Circular on the Purchase of Butter (see Useful documents section);
for skimmed-milk powder: point 9.3. of pages 13, 14 and 15 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder (see Useful documents section).

CANCELLATION OF THE SALE

The sale can be cancelled directly when the products are refused at the warehouse dock for non-conformity with packaging requirements, age, palletisation, in particular. All costs shall be borne by the seller who must immediately take back the rejected products.

The sale may be cancelled after the delivery of the goods:

because the analysis of the products shows unfavourable results;
because the products could not be certified as coming from an approved dairy establishment in the EU.

The seller then has 15 calendar days from the date of notification of refusal by OPW to take back its products from the warehouse.

The seller may request a counter-analysis under certain conditions (see page 16 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder or pages 15 and 16 of the Circular on the Purchase of Butter in the Useful documents section)

Benefits

This assistance measure, called public intervention, makes it possible to assist the sector by guaranteeing its operators the purchase of their production at the intervention price.

Procedure

IN SUMMARY:

Request a partner number from the OPW
Send the original of the mandate back to the stockholder
Procedure for an offer to sell at a fixed price
Procedure for a sale by tender
Delivery of skimmed milk powder or butter
Product eligibility inspection
Acceptance of delivery and payment

PARTNER IDENTIFICATION REQUEST

To be able to participate in public storage as a seller or stockholder, you must be identified as a partner with OPW.

Fill in the application form for a partner number (non-farmer).
Print it on your company’s letterhead.
Return the signed application:

by letter to:

Paying Agency of Wallonia – Identification and Surfaces Directorate

Chaussée de Louvain, 14, 5000 Namur;

by email to: opw@spw.wallonie.be

SELLER’S MANDATE TO THE STOCKHOLDER

The seller can give a mandate to the stockholder in order to represent it for the following formalities:

signing the entry goods statements that accompany the goods and are handed over to the Agricultural Control Directorate (DCA);
signing the quantitative acceptance and sample taking reports drawn up by the DCA.

The seller must send the original of the mandate to the OPW before the first entry into storage.

PROCEDURE FOR AN OFFER TO SELL AT A FIXED PRICE

3.1. Submitting an offer to sell

There are two ways of submitting a bid:

1.You connect to the Agriculture Counter (Guichet de l’Agriculture) and complete the form for submitting an offer to sell for public storage directly online.

2.You complete the ‘Fixed Price Offer to Sell’ form (see the Form section) and send it signed by email (interventions.opw@spw.wallonie.be) or registered mail to:

Payment Agency of Wallonia – Agricultural Structures Directorate

Chaussée de Louvain 14, 5000 Namur

3.2. Receipt of the offer to sell by OPW

The Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW:

receives your bid,
registers the date of receipt of your bid,
assigns an order number to your bid.

Bids submitted on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays shall be deemed to have been received by the Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW on the first working day following their submission.

3.3. Review of the admissibility of the offer to sell

The OPW checks that your tender meets all the conditions for admissibility (see point 5.2. on page 6 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder or the Circular on the Purchase of Butter).

The offer to sell, once received by the OPW, may no longer be withdrawn or modified, otherwise the guarantee will be seized.

3.4. Dispatch of the delivery note

Each Tuesday, the Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW notifies the European Commission of the quantities of admissible tenders the previous week.

The Commission decides within two working days whether the bid is accepted.

The Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW then issues the delivery note to the seller within 5 working days. This delivery note:

is the purchase contract,
is dated and numbered and includes:

the quantity of products to be delivered,
the deadline for delivery of the products,
the warehouse where the products are delivered,
the fixed price (intervention price) for the product delivered to the loading bay of the warehouse.

PROCEDURE FOR A SALE BY TENDER

4.1. Submitting a tender

To submit a tender in the context of a tender procedure:

complete the ‘Tender for the sale of skimmed milk powder’ form or the ‘Tender for the sale of butter’ form (see Forms below),
sign it and send it by email (opw@spw.wallonie.be) or registered mail to:

Payment Agency of Wallonia – Agricultural Structures Directorate

Chaussée de Louvain 14

5000 Namur

4.2. Receipt of the tender by the OPW

The Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW registers the date on which the tender is received and assigns it a tender number.

4.3. Review of the admissibility of the tender

The OPW checks that your submission meets all the conditions of admissibility (see section 6.3. on pages 7 and 8 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder or the Circular on the Purchase of Butter).

The tender submitted may no longer be withdrawn or modified, otherwise the guarantee will be seized.

4.4. Dispatch of the delivery note

The Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW shall notify the European Commission of admissible tenders within the time limit laid down in the regulation opening the tender.

As soon as the Commission decision is published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the for Agricultural Structures Directorate analyses the tenders:

The tender is accepted if the price offered is lower than or equal to the maximum purchase price fixed by the Commission.
Tenders will be rejected if the price proposed is higher than the maximum purchase price fixed by the Commission or if no maximum purchase price has been fixed.

If the tender is refused, the Agricultural Structures Directorate informs the seller within 3 working days of the entry into force of the Commission’s decision.

If the tender is accepted, the OPW’s Agricultural Structures Directorate issues the delivery note to the seller within 5 working days. This delivery note:

is the purchase contract,
is dated and numbered and includes:

the quantity of products to be delivered,
the deadline for delivery of the products,
the warehouse where the products are delivered,
the price at which the tender is accepted.

DELIVERY

The delivery of the products takes place within 21 calendar days of the date of the delivery note. The deadline may be extended by up to 7 calendar days by the OPW, at your request, and depending on the quantities accepted.

See paragraph 8 of pages 10 and 11 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder or the Circular on the Purchase of Butter (see ‘Useful document’ section) for all details concerning:

delivery deadlines,
the documents to be submitted:

stocking schedule,
goods record – entry,
delivery date,
delivery charges.

PRODUCT ELIGIBILITY INSPECTION

Skimmed milk powder and butter must meet production and quality requirements. The Agricultural Control Directorate (DCA) of the OPW inspects these aspects for Wallonia. Approval of the producing dairy establishment guarantees that the skimmed milk powder or butter produced for public intervention complies with all these requirements.

The DCA carries out qualitative inspections on the entry into storage of products by taking samples and analysing them.

See point 10.2. of pages 15 and 16 of the Circular on the purchase of skimmed-milk powder and pages 14, 15 and 16 of the Circular on the purchase of butter (see relevant documents section).

PACKAGING AND PALLETISATION INSPECTION

The DCA shall carry out quantitative and qualitative inspections on the entry into storage of skimmed milk powder or butter. These inspections make it possible to verify:

the weight (bags and pallets);
the nature and quality of the packaging and labelling;
the quality of the pallet on which the goods are delivered.

The inspection method is based on the analysis of a composite sample.

The quantities may be rejected following the analyses.

See point 10. of pages 15 and 16 of the Circular on the purchase of skimmed-milk powder and pages 14, 15 and 16 of the Circular on the purchase of butter (see relevant documents).

ACCEPTANCE OF DELIVERY AND PAYMENT

8.1. Acceptance report

The Agricultural Structures Directorate issues the seller with an acceptance certificate. The certificate shall indicate the quantities accepted and any quantities not covered.

8.2. Reimbursement of pallets

The Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW compensates pallets on the basis of a flat-rate amount of EUR 10 per pallet. The pallets taken into account are those carrying the skimmed milk powder or butter actually purchased by the OPW.

The seller submits an invoice by email (interventions.opw@spw.wallonie.be) or registered post (Paying Agency of Wallonia – Agricultural Structures Directorate – Chaussée de Louvain 14 – 5000 Namur) and states:

the number of the delivery note (only one delivery note per invoice);
storage batch numbers;
the number of pallets concerned.

8.3. Payment for the quantities accepted

The OPW DSA pays for the quantities delivered and accepted for skimmed milk powder or butter no later than the 65th calendar day following the date of delivery. The deadline is suspended if an administrative investigation is underway.

After the delivery date, the seller shall submit to the OPW Agricultural Structures Directorate an invoice per delivery note:

which includes:

the number of the delivery note,
the corresponding batch numbers.

See all the details of acceptance and payments on pages 16 and 17 of the Circular on the Purchase of Skimmed-Milk Powder or the Circular on the Purchase of Butter (see ‘Useful Documents’ section).

BRINGING AN APPEAL AGAINST THE DECISION TAKEN BY THE OPW

You may appeal to the Director of the Paying Agency of Wallonia within 45 calendar days from the date of:

the day after the issuing of this decision;
the day after the issuing of a notice from the postal services advising of this dispatch.

There are various ways of sending your appeal to the OPW:

by dated and signed email sent to opw@spw.wallonie.be

by registered post for the attention of Mr Olivier DEKYVERE, Chaussée de Louvain, 14, 5000 Namur;
by letter sent by private companies against acknowledgement of receipt for the attention of Mr Olivier DEKYVERE, Chaussée de Leuven, 14, 5000 Namur;
by lodging a document against acknowledgement of receipt for the attention of Mr Olivier DEKYVERE, Chaussée de Leuven, 14, 5000 Namur.

Legal references

Forms

To download

Useful documents

Useful links

Consult the information concerning the intervention and the aid measures on the agriculture portal (only available in French)

Contacts

Services

See the contact information for filing an appeal with the OPW:

Chaussée de Louvain, 14

5000 - Namur

info.opw@spw.wallonie.be

Contact the Agricultural Structures Directorate of the OPW for any questions concerning accreditation for the production of skimmed milk powder or butter for private and/or public storage

interventions.opw@spw.wallonie.be

For any questions concerning identification as a partner (non-farmer) of the OPW, contact the Identification and Surfaces Directorate of the OPW

partenaire.opw@spw.wallonie.be

Updated on

05.07.2024

Process n° : 4002

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