Sunday, January 27, 2008

Subsidies 97 per cent of farm profit

Subsidy income now represents 97 per cent of farm profits, according to the annual Farm Profits Survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants' Farming and Rural Business Group. This is despite a small rise in turnover and profitability during 2006/7.

The survey of agricultiral accountants revealed that average farm turnover for 2006/7 was £312,000, yielding an average net profit of £46,300, up by £8600. This figure coincided with average drawings and was little more than the average receipt from subsidies of £45,000. Figures for 2007/8 should, of course, be better for cereal farmers in particular.

This survey emphasises the resistance that could be encountered if subsidies were ended or severly cut back. It also reinforces the case for a once and for all 'buying out' of subsidies through a bond scheme.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

With significant agflation, now is the perfect time to end the CAP.

Anonymous said...

High level EU agriculture talks in Poland,
it guarantees a minimum price to producers and imposes more import tariffs and quotas.
What about the consumers whose taxes are used to provide this protectionism to EU farmers?
I thought that the European Central Bank was concerned about inflation, "agflation", food prices are increasing significantly.

Anonymous said...

Removing quotas and allowing free trade would benefit the EU economy, food inflation would decrease, this would increase the ability of the ECB to reduce interest rates, this would also make EU companies more competitive and stimulate our economy, creat jobs, and the world economies could agree on the WTO talks.

Anonymous said...

Maintaining the CAP protects less than 5% of the EU population at the cost to the other 95%.

Stopping the CAP would benefit more than 95% of the EU population.