FUW leader repeats call to scrap new fuel duty increase

Farmers’ Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan today urged the Chancellor to scrap plans to increase fuel duty in September by a further 2p per litre (ppl) in addition to the 2p introduced earlier this month.

Mr Vaughan originally wrote to Mr Darling in September 2007 urging him to defer the fuel duty increase scheduled for October 2007 but the Chancellor went ahead with a 2ppl increase then, another 2p on April 1 and a third rise of 2p is now planned for September.

"Despite recent price reductions the average price nowadays of diesel for Welsh motorists has gone back up to 102.7ppl and petrol is 95.4ppl.

"With fuel duty at the highest rate in Europe - and double the EU average - it accounts for almost half the cost of Welsh fuel prices which already compare badly with the 91.63ppl for unleaded petrol and 84.19ppl for diesel in southern Ireland and 37.19ppl for unleaded petrol and 40.11ppl for diesel in the US."

Mr Vaughan expressed his disappointment that fuel duty rises were being introduced yet again despite the extreme economic pressures on the agricultural industry and wider rural economy.

He was concerned rising costs of transportation were having a profound effect on the sustainability of the agricultural industry.

"The current economic climate, coupled with rising oil prices and a lack of investment in alternative fuel opportunities, has resulted in a significant increase in overheads for primary producers who cannot pass these costs up the marketing chain.

"The Chancellor must scrap next September’s fuel duty rise because it gives us such an unfair playing field over many of our competitors and there is no doubt every commodity that has to be transported to the rural areas will now cost us much more in the future."