Declarations by first purchasers of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk and dairy products.

Draft Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 319/2015 of 24 April 2015 on mandatory declarations to be issued by first purchasers and producers of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk and dairy products, and Royal Decree 153/2016 of 15 April 2016 on mandatory declarations to be issued by manufacturers of bottled cow's milk.

The most significant new aspects drawn up in this Royal Decree are the following:

a) New obligations for first purchasers in relation to the data they are obliged to declare each month in the INFOLAC database due to regulatory changes starting 1 January 2021: at present they are required to declare deliveries and imports of raw cow's milk in addition to direct sales, where all or part of their production goes directly to the consumer or where they produce dairy products on the farm. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1746 of 1 October 2019 extends this obligation to the fat and protein content of raw milk, deliveries of organic milk and the prices of such. However, it was already necessary to declare fat and protein content (as required under national regulations), therefore this should not be considered a new obligation.
b) Obligation to issue declarations for raw sheep's and goat's milk.
c) Obligation to issue monthly declarations of deliveries of raw milk and the amount including quality attributes (Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication) for all species, although these declarations are delayed until 1 January 2021.
d) Assignment of the dairy sector's unified information system to the the Food Information and Control Agency (‘AICA’ by its initials in Spanish) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who will be responsible for its operation. This is currently assigned to the Spanish Agrarian Guarantee Fund ('FEGA' by its initials in Spanish) of the same Ministry.
e) Communications related to the dairy sector on information contained in the INFOLAC database are issued by the General Directorate of Agricultural Productions and Markets:
The draft consists of two articles, four transitional provisions, a sole repealing provision and a sole final provision.
- The first article amends two sections of Royal Decree 319/2015 of 24 April 2015:
The first article amends Article 6, paragraph 8, requiring that the General Directorate of Agricultural Productions and Markets submit the following information to the European Commission, no later than the 25th of the month after the month in question:
a) Monthly deliveries of raw cow's milk
b) Average fat and protein content of those deliveries
c) Monthly deliveries of organic raw cow's milk
d) Average price of raw cow's milk
e) Average price of organic raw cow's milk
The second article amends Annexes II, III, IV and V to include the new data to be declared by first purchasers of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk and by producers that make direct sales.
- The second article amends two sections of Royal Decree 153/2016 of 15 April 2016 on mandatory declarations to be issued by manufacturers of bottled cow's milk.
The first article amends Article 3, paragraph 1, requiring manufacturers of bottled cow's milk to submit a monthly declaration following specific procedures for each customer on bottled milk placed on the market during the month immediately preceding the month in question, leaving paragraph 4 blank, via the INFOLAC application within the first twenty days of every month.
The second article amends Article 4, paragraph 1, in order to establish that the information, which is to be kept confidential at all times, may not be used by AICA nor transmitted for purposes that differ from its area of activity. This is without prejudice to the submission of data by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the purpose of its aggregation for market control and subject to the obligation of confidentiality established in the previous article applicable to personnel and officials, and, where appropriate, the National Commission of
Markets and Competition.
- The first transitional provision provides that the communications to the Commission established in Article 6, paragraph 8 are to be issued by the General Directorate of Agricultural Productions and Markets as of 1 February 2021.
- The second transitional provision establishes that the direct sales declarations according to the model established in Annex V shall enter into force from January 2022.
- The third transitional provision provides that, in the case of raw sheep's milk and organic goat's milk, declarations shall enter into force from February 2022.
- The fourth transitional provision states that declarations related to raw milk under a Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications shall enter into force from February 2022.
- The sole final provision establishes that the standard shall enter into force on the day after its publication.
However, in the case of raw cow's milk, sections two and three of the sole final provision establish that the declarations include the volume of organic milk delivered (which shall enter into force on 1 February 2021), in addition to the volume of milk delivered under a Protected Designation of Origin and the volume of milk delivered under a Protected Geographical Indication, which shall enter into force on 1 February 2022.
In the case of raw sheep's and goat's milk, the declarations shall include the volume of organic milk delivered under a Protected Designation of Origin and the volume delivered under a Protected Geographical Indication, which shall enter into force on 1 February 2022, in accordance with section three of the sole final provision., of