The European Union (EU) has exceeded its milk quota by 40,000 tonnes for the period 2000/2001 with offending states incurring levies of 289 million Euros, according to estimates by the European Commission. This compares with an overrun of one million tonnes in 1999/2000 and levies amounting to 380 million Euros.
For the marketing year 2000/ 2001 the total quota for deliveries to milk producers was set at 117 million tonnes for the whole of the EU. Seven member states are thought to have exceeded their quotas