European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski has dampened expectations that private storage aid will be rolled out any time soon for either the dairy or beef sectors.

Wojciechowski told MEPs on Wednesday that he was aware of the major problems in both sectors and of the expectation that the European Commission would intervene in the market. However, he said the budget was not available for such action.

Instead, member states were urged to use unspent funds in their rural development fund to support farmers affected by COVID-19. The Commissioner said there was approximately 17% of all rural development funds across the EU unallocated that could be used.

Wojciechowski said the pandemic was an opportunity to reflect on supply chains and the need to shorten the distance from farm to fork.