THE Okehampton-based Moorland Fuels is warning agricultural businesses and companies across Devon and Cornwall to avoid getting caught out by the much-anticipated rise in fuel duty, which is expected to be announced in the Budget on October 30.

The business believes that fuel duty – which has been frozen since 2011 – could rise by as much as 10p per litre. This will occur if the chancellor announces an increase in fuel duty by 5p/litre and removes the temporary 5p/litre cut in fuel duty introduced under the Conservative government in March 2022. Removing the 5p discount alone will bring the Treasury an additional £2-billion a year.

The rise is expected following extensive warnings from the Prime Minister that the government’s first Budget in October is going to be “painful” with people having to accept “short-term pain for long-term good”.

Matthew Crockett, managing director of Moorland Fuels, said: “Our worry is that many businesses and farms will exceptionally be busy at this time of year. For them it could be all too easy to fail to order fuel in good time, costing them dearly. We want to help avoid that by getting the message out there so that businesses order ahead to avoid what could otherwise be a very expensive mistake.”