An Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) proposal to freeze levy rates for the second year running has been approved by UK Ministers.
The decision to hold 2014/15 levy rates for all industry sectors at the same level as last year was one of the recommendations made by the levy board in its 2014/17 Corporate Plan. This went to a six-week stakeholder consultation before being formally agreed by Ministers at Defra, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and DARD Northern Ireland prior to last week’s meeting of the AHDB Board.
Â
“The decision not to change levy rates reflects industry concerns caused by one of the most difficult years for farming in over a decade,” said AHDB chief executive Tom Taylor.
Â
“It’s the board’s considered view that the forecast levy income, supplemented with reserves where necessary, will be sufficient to fund AHDB’s proposed work programmes for 2014/15.”
The pig levy will be held at 85p/head for producers and 20p/head for processors. BPEX’s projected levy revenue for 2014/15 is £8.825 million.