Farming News - NFU urges growers to 'Stand firm' as beet price negotiations continue

NFU urges growers to 'Stand firm' as beet price negotiations continue

 

The battle over sugar contracts in the UK continues to rage. NFU has urged growers not to act after monopoly processor British Sugar sent out contracts for 2014 last week.

 

The NFU said the contracts gave "woefully inadequate" prices and had been sent before a price agreement had been reached between itself and British Sugar. However, a British Sugar spokesperson said the company was obliged to send out the contract information. The spokesperson explained, "We are required by the Inter-Professional Agreement to issue contract offer documents to growers on or before June 30."  

 

However, the farmers' union, which rejected British Sugar's price of £30.67 unveiled at the Cereals event last month, urged growers not to act on the offers, which give the same price. British Sugar said contracts must be returned by 31st July.   

 

NFU Sugar Board vice-chair Robert Law said last week that British Sugar had refused to enter into discussions with the Union. He said, "Our message to growers: Stand United. Stand Firm." He said the processor risks worsening "bad relations with growers and [creating] more trouble next year."

 

NFU chief sugar adviser Ruth Digby said on Friday, "Their [British Sugar's] price offer is woefully inadequate and well short of a fair price for sugar beet. We have therefore not agreed this price and they cannot offer a contract price that has not been agreed.

 

"We have been clear for over 18 months that the price model will fail to deliver a price to get the beet grown," she added. "British Sugar have shown they acknowledge this by offering a supplement to the price for yet another contracting year. The NFU however have been clear that just £3 a tonne more is insufficient and does not represent a fair and reasonable price for sugar beet farmers."