NFU leaders have said they are "bitterly disappointed" after learning that UK ministers have decided not to take advantage of an EU aid package for fruit and vegetable producers impacted by the Russian trade ban.

Defra officials confirmed to the union that they do not support aid measures introduced by the Commission, stating that "Ministers do not believe that destroying edible UK produce would be an acceptable use of public money."

The NFU maintains that the scheme "should be implemented in the UK due to distortion of markets on the back of the Russian trade ban." The EU has been forced to develop more targeted funding for fruit, vegetable and dairy farmers affected by the embargo, as there have been a number of suspicious compensation claims made since the ban came into effect in August.

The NFU's Chief Horticulture and Potatoes Adviser, Chris Hartfield, said on Friday, "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. The simple fact is that the markets for certain sectors have collapsed due to the surplus product in the EU.

"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."

The Fruit and Veg aid package was first announced in August but was oversubscribed. The EU Commission subsequently launched a second scheme which 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.

Guy Poskitt, chair of the union's Horticulture and Potatoes Board, said the union would be writing to Ministers on Friday to call for the decision to be reviewed.