The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed the Chancellor's acceptance of the union's recent demands on him to scrap plans for a 4p fuel duty hike next month and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser scheme without further delay.
"For once, we are pleased that the Chancellor has heeded the demands of farmers living in rural Wales seriously affected by the current surge in inflation," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.
"We had genuine concerns that motorists in Welsh rural communities would see prices rise by an extra five pence per litre (ppl) or almost 23p per gallon at the pumps next month.
"So the Chancellor's Budget announcement to cut fuel duty by 1p immediately and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser is welcome. But we also note with interest his admission in the Budget Speech that this will not end the pressure on family budgets.
"When I urged the Chancellor in January to scrap next month's fuel duty increase and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser scheme, prices for unleaded petrol across Wales were already reported to be running at £1.32ppl and up to five pence more for diesel.
"I believe that we had by then reached a critical point at which action must be taken to significantly reduce fuel tax in order to aid the economy.
"The FUW is very much in favour of the early introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser, where duty is cut when oil prices soar and goes up again when prices fall, as this will be much fairer on rural dwellers.
"Bearing in mind that there is a difference of as much as five pence per litre between rural and city garages in Wales already, any added fuel duty coupled with rising oil prices is devastating to rural communities all over the UK.
"It is grossly unfair that we here in the UK pay far more for our fuel than any other country and the fault lies with the extortionate level of tax imposed by the Government," said Mr Vaughan.