21.8.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 223/3 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 826/2008 of 20 August 2008 laying down common rules for the granting of private storage aid for certain agricultural products THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agri- cultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agri- cultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 43(a), (d) and (j), in conjunction with Article 4 thereof, Whereas: (1) Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 12342007 provides that a private storage aid has to be granted for butter, Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano and Provolone cheese. Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 12342007 provides that a private storage aid may be granted for white sugar, olive oil, fresh or chilled meat of adult bovine animals, long-keeping cheeses and cheeses which are manu- factured from sheep andfor goat’s milk, pigmeat, sheepmeat and goatmeat. In order to implement the aid scheme in a timely manner, detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 should be laid down. Currently, the possibility of granting aid for private storage is laid down in the Council Regulations on the common organisation of the markets in certain products. Those regulations have been replaced by Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. In order to simplify and improve the effectiveness of the management and control mechanisms, common rules should be laid down for the implementation of the private storage aid scheme. The aid for the private storage of products mentioned in Articles 28 and 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 should be either fixed in advance or determined via a tendering procedure. () O) L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 510/2008 (O] L 149, 7.6.2008, p. 61). ) (10) (13) An aid scheme for the private storage of products referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 should be implemented when the conditions mentioned in that Regulation are fulfilled. An aid scheme for the private storage of products referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 may be implemented when the conditions mentioned in that Regulation are fulfilled. The restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community has led to regional differentiation, with some regions having a sugar surplus, either due to local production or to imports, and others having a deficit. In regions with a surplus, prices at producers’ level are expected to be subject to downward pressure since local supply exceeds local demand. In regions with a deficit, prices at producers’ level are expected to be firmer since local supply does not match up to local demand. The price drop in certain Member States will not be reflected by the average Community price and provision should therefore be made for opening of tendering procedures limited to the Member States where national average prices fall below 80 % of the reference price. As a general rule, to facilitate management and control, private storage aid should be granted only to operators established and registered for VAT purposes in the Community. In order to provide for effective control of the production of olive oil and sugar, operators eligible for private storage aid should fulfil additional conditions. To ensure that the arrangements can be monitored properly, the information needed to conclude the storage contract should be specified in the present Regu- lation as well as the obligations of the contracting parties. In order to make the scheme more effective, contracts should relate to a certain minimum quantity, differen- tiated by product as appropriate, and to the obligations to be fulfilled by the contracting party, in particular those enabling the competent authority responsible for checking storage operations to make an effective inspection of the storage conditions.