The NFU has urged the government to review its decision to refuse EU aid offered to growers affected by the Russian imports ban, after calling it a “slap in the face” to UK producers.
The union said it is “bitterly disappointed” that ministers refused the aid package, the second round of funding released by the EU to support European exporters, after saying they did not want to spend money on destroying edible produce.
A letter from Defra officials stated that: “Ministers do not believe that destroying edible UK produce would be an acceptable use of public money.”
The news comes as the NFU and other industry stakeholders lobbied for the scheme to be implemented in the UK due to distortion of markets on the back of the Russian trade ban.
Chief horticulture and potatoes advisor, Chris Hartfield, said the reason given for not implementing the scheme in the UK is “totally flawed”. “The amount of aid on offer was not sufficient to encourage growers to destroy produce that they would have otherwise sold,” he said.
“The simple fact is that the markets for certain sectors have collapsed due to the surplus product in the EU,” he said.
“Some UK growers, like others in the EU, have had no choice but to destroy produce because there is no longer a buyer and a market for it – the aid package would have simply helped minimise their losses.”
Guy Poskitt, horticulture and potatoes board chairman, said that by deciding not to take up the allocation, ministers have again denied UK producers the opportunity to take up aid which is being “snapped up” by European neighbours.
“This feels like a slap in the face,” he said. “How can we compete against imports when we are consistently facing an uneven playing field?”
The first fruit and vegetable aid package was announced in August but quickly became oversubscribed. The second package offered funds for member states that directly exported to Russia, plus an additional fund for those that had suffered indirect impacts, such as market saturation.
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