SPS Conversion Rate Fixed

SPS Conversion Rate

The rate for converting the 2013 Single Payment will be €1 = £0.83605.  This is the ‘official ECB’ rate on the 30^th September which fixes the value for 2013 payments.  The table below shows the rates back to 2005.  The rate for this year is 4.8% more than last year’s figure of £0.79805 but is still lower than seen from 2009 to 2011.  Sterling has actually strengthened slightly over the last few days which means a worse conversion rate for UK farmers than might of been the case.  The Pound had been consistently above 85p to the Euro for most of the summer. 

The increase in the conversion rate this year will help to offset the reduction to payments due to Financial Discipline.  This is being imposed for the first time this year to keep spending within the new EU budget.  A deduction of 4.98% has been proposed, although this is not yet fixed.

Modulation rates in the UK are unchanged in 2013 compared to 2012.  The actual payments can now be calculated in Scotland and Wales for 2013 (aside from the confirmation of Financial Discipline).  In England a further piece of information is required in the form of the annual revaluation of entitlements.  The calculation of entitlement values is undertaken from scratch each year and the rate can vary depending on how many entitlements are claimed. The RPA usually announce this information towards the end of October.  Our provisional estimates for England are: