The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, ahead of the spring budget to call for greater support for domestic food production as “energy, fuel and other production costs continue to soar”.
Hunt will deliver his spring budget on Wednesday (March 15) to the House of Commons, and ahead of that NFU president Minette Batters is calling for him to extend the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme to include energy intensive sectors such as horticultural and poultry production.
As well as this, Batters has asked for an extension to the current reduced rates of fuel duty, including for red diesel, and for improved support for capital investment.
Speaking ahead of the budget next week, Batters said: “At an NFU reception in Westminster in December, the Chancellor recognised the ongoing challenges of producing food in Britain, and we are now seeing the impact of these challenges play out through contraction across all sectors.
“If the government is to halt food price inflation and help prevent further food shortages, greater support and confidence is needed for the thousands of farm businesses which are trying, but struggling, to feed our nation.”
Batters said that it seems “irresponsible” for the ETII scheme to overlook primary food production as it is “wholly at odds with the government’s own ambition to produce more home-grown fruit and vegetables”.
“An urgent review into the ETII is needed to ensure that essential and vulnerable food producing sectors, such as protected horticulture and poultry production, do not face a cliff edge when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends later this month.
“Improving support for capital investment and extending the reduced fuel duty rates would also give farmers and growers across all sectors greater confidence, especially as the cost of red diesel remains almost 40% higher than it was last April.”
