The NFU has held a meeting with Defra secretary of state Emma Reynolds and farming minister Dame Angela Eagle to discuss the UK’s food resilience, in light of the war in the Middle East.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw outlined how disruption to global oil and gas markets has affected the price of fuel and fertiliser.
He relayed particular issues with a lack of transparency over the pricing of these critical inputs, with some farmers not receiving a price until delivery. He stressed the need for greater price visibility to help farmers make informed decisions, and the need for confidence in their continued availability.
With the potential for increased costs to drive further food price inflation, he pressed the importance of building farm business resilience so the food supply chain can better manage global shocks.
Bradshaw said: “The Secretary of State recognised that volatility in the global energy market has a huge impact on our food supply chains here and they are watching this very closely.
“It’s clear that transparency and fairness over fuel and fertiliser prices is critical, and we’ve been asking for this for a long time, regardless of market volatility.
“Some farmers are only being made aware of the price they will pay once products have been delivered onto farm, making it difficult to decline or challenge the price. This limits their ability to make informed decisions and erodes trust.
“This is also about long-term solutions. We’ve already seen this situation play out with the Russian invasion of Ukraine which drove an ongoing cost-of-living crisis here. And, with the removal of farm support which added a layer of resilience for many farm businesses, farmers are more exposed than ever to global markets. We need to find ways to prevent UK farm businesses becoming collateral damage to global politics.
“While the impact on food production and food price inflation will depend on what happens over the coming weeks, it is yet another sobering reminder of the need to build resilience in UK farming. We have to build our ability to withstand global shocks so we can continue to produce food for the 70 million consumers of the UK, and the Secretary of State recognised that.”
The NFU is also closely monitoring commodity markets and is working with CBI and agricultural supply chains to establish impacts.