March 1, 2023

UK's farming unions call for energy scheme to include poultry

The UK's four farming unions, the National Farmers' Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU), have called for the country's Energy and Trade Intensive Industry scheme (ETII) to include horticulture and production of poultry, FarmingUK reported.

Beginning in April 2023, the programme will offer significant energy relief to a number of industries, including manufacturing and food processing. But the scheme excludes primary agricultural production, even though it is a crucial source in the production of food.

The unions said higher energy costs would be a major challenge for all farmers, especially for the horticulture and poultry sectors, when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme is changed at the end of March.

David Brown, president of UFU, said poultry producers will struggle to absorb the enormous increases in energy prices because they depend on gas and electricity to safely rear poultry and store fresh produce.

The letter from the unions said that domestic food production may decrease, posing a longer-term risk of consumer food price inflation, if the scheme is not amended to provide a higher level of relief.

Additionally, it might be detrimental to the thousands of supply chain companies that UK agricultural industry depends on.

-      FarmingUK