The Manx National Farmers’ Union has welcomed moves by the Steam Packet to reduce freight charges.

Earlier this month, the ferry operator announced a ‘strategic reset’ of its pricing for next year.

It said the changes would make ferry travel more affordable, accessible, and transparent for customers across a wide range of private and business sectors. 

Among the measures was the harmonisation of driven and unaccompanied freight rates.

All published meterage rates for driven and unaccompanied freight vehicles will be brought into line, saving self-propelled freight customers such as rigid lorries and articulated tractor trailer units more than 30% on current rates.

The island’s agricultural industry has been pressing for a more equitable model of ferry freight charging.

This follows an investigative study into freight charges into remote islands, commissioned by the MNFU with the support of DEFA.

The Birnie Consultancy report found that that high freight costs are inhibiting the export of food products from the island and are contributing to much higher input costs for Manx farms, leading to reduced profitability.

MNFU general secretary Sarah Comish said the union had engaged with the Manx government in the spring and early summer on the matter of freight charging and it was due to meet with the Steam Packet this week to discuss in more detail the recent proposals.

She said they had been seeking recognition of the impact the comparative high charges set by the Steam Packet was having on the island’s agricultural industry

‘It has been encouraging to see that the managing director of the Steam Packet Company has been responding to feedback and reaching out to the industry,’ she said, adding that the union’s membership had not yet agreed that the proposals on discounted fares should be accepted.

‘We look forward to engaging with both the Steam Packet management team, and the government in the near future with an ambition to progress towards a more beneficial economic strategy for local food and farming businesses.’

In its submission to the Tynwald select committee on the regulation of the Steam Packet, the MNFU said Manx agriculture experiences a significantly higher cost of production compared with other jurisdictions - and the price of freight shipping negatively influences this and potential trade opportunities.

It notes: ‘Consideration of this factor has been notably absent, yet it can certainly alter the viability of food production on the Isle of Man. Valuable trade and market opportunities for the Isle of Man have been lost due to this cost barrier.

‘Per mile, the standard Isle of Man freight charges are more than double the cost of the next highest charging route of Isle of Wight to Southampton, and almost three times more than those for Jersey or Guernsey.

‘Other transport methods for agriculture including towed trailers face similar high charging challenges under the commercial charging model employed for the industry.’

The MNFU pointed out food security is a national priority and recent global events have demonstrated our vulnerability.

It said a more equitable freight charging model would in turn reduce costs of production, increase food production viability and provide further benefits for the economy, including increasing volumes of freight and creating efficiencies by maximising available capacity.

In its conclusion, the Birnie report acknowledged that the costs of operating a ferry service to and from the island are high, but it also recognised there is an absence of competition which may encourage reduced fares.

It said: ‘The costs of the ferry are so high for agricultural goods that the reductions would be need to be very large, which may not be feasible for the ferry company.’

It said there was a strong argument for the provision of support for export and import of agricultural goods, which it acknowledged could be controversial.