SAP set at £11.61
SAP set at £11.61
SHEEP annual premium for 1997 has been set at £11.61 a head, subject to last-minute green £ adjustments.
Advance payments of £7.45 have already been paid, says the MLC, leaving a balancing payment of just £4.16 a head to come, probably in April. This will be topped up in the Less Favoured Areas by an estimated 31p a head, representing the final 10% of the LFA supplement.
Last years SAPS payment came to £13.66 a head. The lower rate this year reflects the downward effect of numerous green £ revaluations. As well as lowering the rate of ewe premium when converted from ecus to sterling, the revaluations also increase the price of sheep when converted from sterling to ecus. As such, market managers in Brussels, who work in ecus, believe sheep prices actually increased in the UK in 1997. *