2020 BPS conversion rate reminder

Defra has reminded farmers that the conversion of 2020 Basic Payments will be based on the same exchange rate as in 2019 and that all payments will be made in sterling.

In previous years, payments have had to be converted to sterling using the average European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rate recorded across the month of September.

Claimants have also been able to choose between being paid in euros or sterling.

See also: BPS no longer available in euros, Scotland confirms

However, following Brexit this is no longer the case, with the scheme now falling under UK legislation.

The exchange rate used to make BPS payments will therefore be €1 = £0.89092.

According to farm consultant Andersons, the biggest change is that the Financial Discipline Mechanism, a tool used by the EU to reduce BPS payments each year to help manage the CAP budget, will not be applied in 2020.

In 2019, this represented a 1.4327% reduction which was applied to each claimant’s payment.

The final BPS 2020 payment rates will not be available until November, as they change slightly each year depending on the total number of entitlements claimed.