Siden juli 1997 har Kommissionen åbenbart i alt for høj grad leget med ilden i sin forvaltning af korneksporten. At indføre en afgift på korneksporten, når priserne i EU lå under niveauet på verdensmarkedet, at opgive det saudiarabiske bygmarked til konkurrenterne, at udvise alt for stor passivitet ved høstårets begyndelse, er alle ting, der nu truer med at give en voldsom stigning i EU's lagre.
Since July 1997 the Commission seems to have been adopting a rather risky approach to its management of cereals exports, with the tax on wheat exports when the European price was below the world market price, abandonment to the competitors of the Saudi market for barley and prolonged delays at the start of the agricultural year, all of which has now led to the risk of a very sharp increase in European stocks.