The Government will claim more than one million euros from Damm for the closure of Agama

PalmDamm will have to return 1.1 million euros to the Government of the subsidy it received within the framework of the transformation of the primary sector, after announcing the closure of the Agama factory in Palma and to fail to comply with the established regulations. This is provided that the file opened by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment confirms what is already evident: the conditions established in the terms and conditions have not been met, since these require maintaining the activity for five years from the date the public aid is received.

The dairy company applied for this aid in 2018, ostensibly to expand its product range and business areas. It finally received it in 2024. Part of this aid came from the Balearic Islands' budget, and the other part from European funds.

The terms of this aid stipulate that, from the moment the Administration pays the subsidy, the beneficiary company must maintain commercial activity for at least five years. This implies that Agama should have continued operating until 2029. Failure to comply with this clause now obliges the dairy company to return the money received, which the Government will formally claim.

Five years after the subsidy granted by the Department of Agriculture, another department, the Department of Business, Self-Employment, and Energy, decided to declare Agama a strategic project. This was on December 1, 2023, a declaration that was called into question months ago when it became apparent that the activity would be paralyzed, and even that the Government of the Balearic Islands considered revoke.

In fact, Damm, the company that owns Agama, reached an agreement with the Balearic Government committing to maintain investments in Mallorca's dairy sector in exchange for being declared a strategic project. The agreement ended up the same way as the subsidy: Damm's breach of contract.

Damm maintains that it "will comply with whatever is asked of it."

Damm has explained to ARA Baleares that it will comply with all requests from the Balearic Islands Government. The company acknowledges that the closure of the Agama factory in Palma violated some of the established conditions for receiving the subsidy, specifically the primary sector transformation program, and has emphasized that it "will accept the consequences."

They explained that they are aware that the Ministry of Agriculture is preparing a file and are waiting for information to finalize the remaining points of the subsidy of more than one million euros they received in 2024.