Raise potato levy 9% or else – BPC warning
Raise potato levy 9% or else – BPC warning
POTATO levy rates must rise £3.50/ha to £40/ha to protect the current range of marketing and research services on offer, says the British Potato Council.
The trade levy on every crop movement up to retail level also needs to rise 2p/t to 17p/t, equivalent to £8.50/ha for a typical 50t/ha crop.
Inflation and lower plantings mean the rises are essential to maintain services, says Nigel Jupe, chief executive of the Oxford-based organisation.
The BPC spends about £6.5m/year on crop production research, industry events, market research, market information and generic promotions, including this years Chip Week and Kids-go-for-free initiatives.
Initial industry consultation has met with broad agreement, Mr Jupe maintains. "Only one person in the past two weeks has suggested a levy cut and the associated cut in services."
The BPC is now set to put its plan to government in November, ahead of formal industry consultation.
If the new rates are not accepted the levy will remain unchanged, prompting service cuts. The industry would have to decide where those cuts were made, Mr Jupe explains.
Since the Potato Marketing Board ended in 1997, inflation has knocked £1.5m/year from the BPCs spending power, mainly due to labour and marketing costs rising faster than average inflation. A 10,000ha slump in average plantings has knocked a further £350,000 off income.
The BPC has tried to balance the books by halving overheads. That saved £1.57m/year, helping lift spending on front-line services from 69% of the budget in 1997 to 75% last year.
But the BPC has also had to spend £2m from reserves left from PMB days. That must now stop, says Mr Jupe. "We need the remaining £2m to buffer annual fluctuations in budgets." *
find out more about what the BPC does in marketing and research before judging the value of a rate rise.
BPC LEVY DEBATE
* £3.50/ha rise to £40/ha for 2002-03.
* 2p/t rise to 17p/t for trade.
* Inflation and smaller area blamed.
* Big cost savings already made.
* "Services must be maintained".
BPCLEVYDEBATE
• £3.50/ha rise to £40/ha for 2002-03.
• 2p/t rise to 17p/t for trade.
• Inflation and smaller area blamed.
• Big cost savings already made.
• "Services must be maintained".