Sark plans milk import ban to protect its dairy
SARK is considering a ban on the importation of Guernsey milk in a bid to protect its ailing dairy industry.
In a joint report, the Agriculture, Environment, Sea Fisheries & Pilotage Committee and Policy & Performance Committee hit out at the importation, which it says is ‘heavily subsidised’ by the Guernsey taxpayer.
Chief Pleas will also be asked to secure the future of the island’s dairy through government taking control of the main site and enough grazing land to support it through long-term rental or lease agreements, and then potentially sub-letting this all out.
The report, to be debated on Wednesday, describes the dairy industry in Sark as being in a ‘fragile’ state.
‘Both committees are concerned to have discovered, although long suspected, that the Nightingale Dairy has no short or long-term security of tenure either on the current site of the dairy or the grazing and agricultural land that they currently have use of, albeit that some fields are rented but only on a year-to-year basis whilst others are used in an agreement with various landowners to maintain the field and hedges but with nothing other than verbal agreements,’ the report says.
There is another small dairy producing milk products, but the Nightingale establishment is the primary business.
Full story in today's Guernsey Press
