Vivergo plant takes last load of wheat after US tariff blow

Vivergo Fuels, the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, has taken delivery of its last scheduled load of wheat, raising concerns for the site’s future.

The latest development comes in the wake of the UK-US trade deal that removed a 19% tariff on US ethanol imports.

Domestic wheat growers now face losing a major purchaser of feed wheat, which has accounted for more than 1m tonnes of wheat each year from over 4,000 UK farms.

See also: US trade deal begins as UK biofuels site faces closure

The site near Hull, which is owned by Associated British Foods, has provided a key market to arable farmers across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

It is also a major supplier of animal feed in the area, producing roughly 400,000t annually.

Urgent negotiations between government and the UK bioethanol sector are ongoing to try to mitigate the negative impacts of the US trade deal.

Vivergo Fuels managing director Ben Hackett said: “We have a choice of going down a path of stagnation, decline, unemployment, economy shrinking, or we have a choice of going towards a path of investment, growth, prosperity, job creation.

“That’s why it’s crucially important that the government comes to a decision quickly, and comes to a decision in favour of supporting the UK bioethanol industry.”

Lincolnshire arable farmer Matt Pickering typically supplied the plant with several thousand tonnes of wheat each year, however, may now need to find a new market.

He said: “We tend to focus more on feed varieties of wheat, rather than milling.

“We struggle with the quality of our land type, so we tend to go for out-and-out bulk volume shed fillers. Vivergo has been a fantastic home for us to sell feed wheat into.”

Local grain hauliers have also raised concerns about the impact on their businesses of the potential site closure.

Mike Green, owner of haulage company AgHaul, said: “The ripple effects from Vivergo going out of business to the various industries associated with it are huge.

“One of the things I don’t want to have to think about is potential redundancies, because we’ve got guys that have worked with us from day one, and we’ve got guys that want to come and work for us.”

NFU urgent plea

The NFU have launched an urgent plea to government to allow more biofuels from crops to be used in road transport and aviation.

NFU Combinable Crops board chairman Jamie Burrows said: “The UK biofuels industry is an important market for the domestic crops sector, taking in more than 2m tonnes of wheat a year, while playing a key role in producing a vital source of animal feed as a by-product, and carbon dioxide used by the wider food supply chain.”

He added: “Not only are there huge implications for those growers that currently supply Vivergo in losing a vital market for their product, but this also has the potential to put further downward pressures on farmgate prices at a time when our arable farmers are already facing huge challenges – including extreme weather and ongoing market volatility.”