GovWire

The RPA has confirmed that there will be no wholesale or direct sales levy for the 2013/14 quota year.

The United Kingdom wholesale milk deliveries totalled 13.7 billion litres 1.6 billion litres under the national wholesale quota. The UKs direct sales amounted to 109.7 million litres 33 million litres under the national direct sales quota. The wholesale delivery figures have been adjusted for butterfat content.

The UK has not exceeded the national milk quota levels set by the European Union for 2013/14. The EU has the power to impose a levy but because UK producers have remained under the limit, there will be no wholesale or direct sales levy for the 2013/14 quota year.

This data is based on end of year declarations and the provisional outcome is subject to amendment in the light of inspection of purchasers and producers annual returns.

In addition, any business that buys raw or bulk milk direct from farmers has a duty to report the amount they buy on a monthly basis, so the industry can see how deliveries are running compared to the UKs quota allocation during the year. These indicative figures are published on the GOV.UK website at the beginning of each month.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. RPA is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is the single paying agency responsible for CAP schemes in England and for certain schemes, including Milk Quotas, throughout the UK.

2. Supplementary levy is charged for milk sold in excess of quota, and contributes towards the cost of subsidised disposal methods such as intervention buying, export refunds or consumption aids.

3. Had the UK as a whole been over quota, levy of approximately 24 pence per litre would have been payable on wholesale deliveries made in excess of quota. Direct sales levy would have been payable on the volume by which all direct sales in the quota year exceeded the national direct sales quota. As both quotas were not exceeded during 2013/14 the provisional calculations have resulted in neither a wholesale nor a direct sales levy being payable.

4. At inspection, Direct Sellers or Purchasers who have under or overstated the level of their sales or receipts will be liable for a penalty.

5. Additional financial penalties will apply to both wholesale purchasers and direct sellers who missed the deadline for return of their annual declarations of deliveries/sales. Additionally, direct sellers who did not return their declarations before 15 June were given 15 days in which to do so, or have their quota confiscated to the national reserve and purchasers who did not return their declarations before 15 June were also given 15 days in which to do so or their approval would be withdrawn.

6. The Rural Payments Agency did not carry out temporary conversions of quota this year as the UK was well below national quota on both wholesales and direct sales.

7. General enquiries on milk quota administration should be addressed to the Milk Quotas Team on 01392 315700

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