Red diesel duty cut a good start, says farmer

A Shropshire farmer has welcomed a forthcoming cut to fuel duty on red diesel, but said food producers were still under a lot of pressure financially.

The prime minister announced on Wednesday that the rate of tax on red diesel would be lowered from just above 10p to 6.48p per litre until the end of the year, starting on 15 June.

"Three-and-a-bit pence off a litre does make a difference, particularly when you take into account the amount that some of our tractors use," said the National Farmers Union's Shropshire county advisor Ed Garratt.

However, farmers were already paying 40-45% more for fuel than they were before the war in Iran which has pushed prices higher, he said.

The agriculture industry is one of the few sectors legally permitted to use red diesel, which is cheaper than regular diesel because lower rates of tax are applied to it.

In general, petrol and diesel prices surged when the conflict began on 28 February, with the production and transport of energy across the Middle East slowing or stopping entirely, because of missile strikes, drone attacks and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

"Since the conflict in the Middle East, we've been working tirelessly to make sure government are aware of the inflationary pressures that farmers and growers are under, and it is a welcome thing to receive," Garratt said.

He said the increased cost of diesel had dealt "a massive hit" on farmers, and lowering the duty on red diesel was a "good start", but added there were other pressures which still needed addressing.

"The cost of fertiliser has rocketed, so the cost that we're paying out to produce food is really quite astronomical," he said.

"Bluntly, we can't keep absorbing those costs."

Garratt urged the government to look at planned levies on fertiliser, and said it would almost double in cost if a scheduled increase came into effect.

He said farmers in Shropshire had found ways to be "incredibly efficient" adding that they employed a lot of people across the area but this was being put at risk.

"Confidence in the future has never been lower, and farmers are very reluctant to invest in the future at the minute," he said.

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