Northern Ireland farmers received what could be their final pre-Brexit EU payments under the Common Agricultural Policy at the start of December - worth £281 million. The payments arrived in 23,609 farmers’ bank accounts according to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Latest figures show that farm incomes in the North fell last year by nearly £8,000 a farm to just over £26,000.
CAP payments to the UK are affected by the euro/ pound exchange rate as they are exchanged from euro into pounds. The rate used for this round of payments was €1 = £0.89092. One can see how the amount paid out can be hit by currency volatility.
It had been estimated that “every one pence move in the value of sterling against the euro changes the amount paid by approximately £3.2 million.” No small amount that!
