EC EXTENDS PARTS OF FREE FOOD FOR POOR SCHEME

  A scheme to distribute surplus food
  free to the poor in the European Community (EC), which was due
  to expire next Tuesday, will be partially extended for a
  further month, an EC Commission spokesman said.
      He added the executive Commission has not yet decided
  whether the scheme should become a permanent feature of the
  EC's struggle to find a use for its massive stocks of farm
  produce.
      Almost 60,000 tonnes of cereals, sugar, beef, butter and
  other food have been authorised for distribution under an
  operation sanctioned by EC farm ministers on January 20 in
  which charities act as executive Commission agents.
      The original idea was to help the needy survive this year's
  unusually cold European winter.
      The spokesman said the Commission was extending the scheme
  fully in Greece, which has recently been hit by unseasonal
  snowstorms, for the month of April.
      Other EC countries would be authorised to use stocks of
  food for which they have already applied under the scheme up to
  April 30. The spokesman said this would enable distribution of
  flour, semolina, sugar and olive oil at a relatively high rate
  next month.
      He said the Commission, which has powers to continue most
  aspects of the scheme without consulting ministers further,
  will be considering soon whether it should be made permanent.
      Cost, which has already reached around 65 mln European
  currency units, would be a major consideration.
      End-January stocks included 1.28 mln tonnes of butter,
  520,000 tonnes of beef and over 10 mln tonnes of cereals.
  

