The plant鈥檚 closure, attributed to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the US-UK trade deal, is expected to have an impact on local wheat growers and the broader agricultural industry.
Owned by AB Foods, the Vivergo plant has been a vital market for domestic wheat, purchasing over a million tonnes annually from over 4,000 UK farms, primarily in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.
NFU Combinable Crops Board Chair Jamie Burrows said: 鈥淭he UK biofuels industry is an important market for the domestic crops sector taking in more than 2 million tonnes of wheat a year while playing a key role in producing a vital source of animal feed as a by-product and CO2 used by the wider food supply chain.聽
鈥溁始一薸s calling for government to allow more biofuels from crops to be used in road transport and aviation.鈥�
NFU Combinable Crops Board Chair Jamie Burrows
鈥淣ot only are there huge implications for those growers that currently supply Vivergo in losing a vital market for their product, but this also has the potential to put further downward pressures on farmgate prices at a time when our arable farmers are already facing huge challenges including extreme weather and ongoing market volatility.
鈥淚n order to open up further market opportunities to incentivise UK wheat being used by UK biofuel plants, the NFU is calling for government to allow more biofuels from crops to be used in road transport and aviation.鈥�
