Early aid payments recognise challenging times for many in Welsh dairy

Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans, has confirmed that EU aid payments to qualifying Welsh dairy farmers will begin today.

More than three quarters of eligible Welsh farmers are expected to be paid their European Aid Package payments in the next few days, with the remainder paid over the coming weeks.

Speaking from Brussels, where she is attending the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the Deputy Minister said she was pleased to have been able to play an important role in securing this package and would continue to stand up for Welsh farming on the European and global stage.

She said:

“The dairy industry has been hit hard through a combination of the Russian import ban, currency exchange rates and over supply in global markets.

“In response to this I have been working hard to present the case for Welsh farmers to the EU and I am pleased these efforts have culminated in this package of support. I realise this may only provide short-term relief but that is what many dairy farmers currently need and I will continue to work closely with the industry in Wales to consider not only the immediate financial needs of the dairy sector but also the longer term requirements of the industry as a whole.”

Last year, the Deputy Minister commissioned an Independent Review of the Dairy Sector in Wales and as a consequence the Welsh Dairy Leadership Board was established and is now taking forward many of the review’s recommendations.

One of the report’s key recommendations was a feasibility study into the need for additional dairy processing capacity in South West Wales. Rebecca Evans said she was hoping to receive the study report within the next few days.

Commenting on cash flows across the agriculture industry as a whole, the Deputy Minister said:

“I recently attended NFU Cymru’s annual conference and was able to update members on our plans for making BPS payments.

“This is the first year of a complex move to a new area-based payments system under CAP reform and a considerable amount of work has been done to reflect the necessary changes.

“I expect the majority of part-payments to be made during the first month, and the vast majority of the remaining part-payments to be made early in 2016. I anticipate that the part-payment to each farmer will be in the region of 80% of the estimated full payment value. I expect the final balance of each BPS payment to be paid during April next year.”