A Welsh farmers' leader today welcomed Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party MPs' decision to table an Early Day Motion in the Commons urging a freeze on fuel duty and repeating calls for the establishment of a fuel duty regulator.
Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan also expressed his disappointment that fuel duty was being increased yet again despite the extreme economic pressures on the agricultural industry and wider rural economy.
He is concerned that fuel duty is set to rise by 2.55p per litre in April (1% above the rate of inflation) which will cost the average family an extra £200 a year. "The rising costs of transportation are also having a profound effect on the sustainability of the agricultural industry.
"The current economic climate, coupled with high oil prices and a lack of investment in alternative fuel opportunities, has resulted in a significant increase in overheads for primary producers who cannot pass these costs up the marketing chain," he said.
"The Chancellor must freeze all fuel duty rises because they give us such an unfair playing field over many of our competitors and there is no doubt every commodity that has to be transported to the rural areas will now cost farmers much more in the future."
Mr Vaughan originally wrote to Mr Darling in September 2007 urging him to defer the fuel duty increase scheduled for October 2007 but the Chancellor went ahead with a 2ppl increase then, another 2p on April 1 2009 and a third 2p rise last September.
"The effect of Mr Darling's decisions mean that farming suffers badly because for every 2p per litre rise in fuel duty the annual operating costs of just one 44-tonne articulated lorry increases by up to £900 - inevitably leading to increased prices for animal feedstuffs, fertiliser, and all other products farmers have to purchase," said Mr Vaughan.