31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 26/15° COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 220/91 of 30 January 1991 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78 on producer groups and associations thereof THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, . Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78 of 19 June 1978 on producer groups and associations thereof ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3808/89 (), and in particular Article 6 (3) thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2083/80 of 31 July 1980 laying down detailed rules of application concerning the economic activity of producer groups and associations thereof (), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2238/89 (*), has been substantially amended on a number of occasions; whereas it is appropriate, for reasons of clarity and rationality, to consolidate the said Regulation ; Whereas, in accordance with the provision referred to above, it is for the Commission to determine the detailed implementing rules on the minimum cultivated area, turnover, or volume of production coming from members which these groups or associations must represent and, if necessary, the minimum number of members they shall have ; Whereas, even those sectors where cultivated area could be used, volume of production constitutes a more reliable criterion of the efficiency of groups and associations ; whereas volume of production also provides a better basis for long-term reference than turnover, which is subject to rapid variations in' monetary values; whereas, however, turnover constitutes an appropriate criterion for certain sectors, in particular those less important sectors where, in view of the difficulty in determining a full list of specific limits, a single reference basis should be used; Whereas, in view of the structure of agriculture in the regions and sectors covered by Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78, supply cannot be concentrated efficiently unless the information on volume of production or turnover of () OJ No L 166, 23. 6. 1978, p. 1. () OJ No L 371, 20. 12. 1989, p. 1 () OJ No L 203, 5. 8. 1980, p. S () OJ No L 215, 26. 7. 1989, p. 12. the producer groups is accompanied by an indication of the minimum number of members such as to facilitate participation by producers who, although they are geared towards the market in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78, are only small-scale produ- cers ; Whereas the detailed rules relating to the economic acti- vity of groups, while taking account of the situation in the regions referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78, should enable production and supply to be effectively adjusted to the concentration and growing requirements of demand; whereas, therefore, while encouraging a multnplmty of groups and associations ; they should avoid excessive fragmentation in these regions; Whereas certain differences in the volume and structure of demand in the various regions referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 1360/78 make it appropriate to modulate the limits envisaged ; Whereas, in particular, the major differences in total production between the various regions of the Italian Republic justify the minimum volume of production controlled by groups in that country being proportional, subject to certain conditions, to the level of regional production ; whereas, moreover, it is justified in the case of Italy for the number of members and the minimum volume of production to be set fairly high, as it is likely that the initiative to form groups will be taken mainly by the trade organizations, which are capable of mobilizing a large number of producers and of involving a fairly large amount of production ; whereas, however, account should be taken of the far-reaching structural deficiencies in the supply of agricultural products in the Mezzogiorno and in the upland areas of the remainder of Italy; Whereas in Portugal, since the fact that ‘alentejanos de montado’ pigs are reared extensively makes estimating national production difficult, the minimum share of national production volume required of associations in this sector should not be set; Whereas for holdings in the Greek, Balearic and Canary Islands the far-reaching structural deficiencies in the supply of agricultural products justify a reduction of the minimum volumes of production ;