October 27, 2006

UK farm minister promises support for poultry sector

The UK government may offer aid to help its poultry industry meet the GBP7 million cost of complying with new environmental and pollution rules, British farming minister Lord Jeff Rooker said Thursday (Oct 25).

The announcement was made at a meeting of more than 100 poultry farmers from various poultry groups urging a three-year waiver on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (IPPC), which comes into effect on Wednesday.

Nigel Joice, regional chairman of the National Farmers' Union's poultry board, said costs have escalated 40 percent over the past 12 months while incomes have fallen 10 percent. This is an untenable situation, Joice said.

The new rules would add more to the burden, requiring farms with more than 40,000 birds to pay at least GBP 6 ,000 more in additional inspection charges, the NFU said. 

The charges come about as the Environment Agency is making an initial charge of GBP 3,331 to apply for the IPPC and an additional GBP2,229 to GBP2,794 for an annual fee.

The industry has estimated that the total inspection costs of the new rules, which would affect 1,200 larger poultry producers, would cost producers an additional GBP 8 million a year

The NFU, the British Poultry Council and the British Egg Industry Council, want the charges to be waived for three years.

The government has a policy of full cost recovery for implementation and enforcement of the IPPC regulation.