Direct milk sellers hit by superlevy

THE RURAL Payments Agency has announced a 5.77p/litre levy on direct sales of milk last year because vendors overshot national quota.

At the same time, the RPA confirmed that volumes of wholesale milk had fallen well below the national ceiling and would not be subject to superlevy.

The final audited figure for the shortfall was 148.6m litres.

But farmers selling milk, cheese and other dairy products through market stalls or direct from the farm went over quota by 4.1m litres, or some 2.2% of the total.

That is despite the net 61m litres of wholesale quota that were converted temporarily to direct quota last year. The total levy bill tops £970,000.