1:34pm Wednesday 17th October 2007
By Lawrence Marzouk
A thousand years of cider making in Sussex could be brought to an end by new European Union regulations.
The future of a tax exemption which has allowed small producers to flourish in the county is in jeopardy.
Cider makers are now warning that a removal of the tax break could put many much-loved drinks out of business or drive them underground.
Small scale producers currently escape duty if they produce less than 70 hectolitres in a year.
This has kept the dozen artisan cider makers which are dotted around Sussex afloat and even tempted new producers to open.
But the EU Commission has set up a working group to review the special excise duty conditions relating to small scale industries and this, many predict, is likely to result in the removal of the exemption.
Although the drink is more associated with the West Country and East Anglia, Sussex has a long tradition of producing the apple-based alcohol.
Rod Marsh runs Middle Farm, near Lewes, which sells one hundred different ciders, including six from the county and its own Pookhill drink.
He said that the first written evidence of cider production in Sussex dates back to the 13th Century - but it is believed that the drink was being made long before that.
A petition has been set up on the prime minister's website calling for the Government to act on behalf of this cottage industry and 830 names have already been added to the list.
Mr Marsh said: "It vital that people sign the petition because as many people as possible must make their views known.
"I do not think it is fully appreciated what the impact will be.
"If you take away the exemption we will not see new people coming into the game.
"There is considerable concern among cider makers and if it happens it will either see them give up or go underground."
Sussex's most famous cider, Merrydown, began production back in 1946, in a garage in Rotherfield, near Crowborough.
But the company moved away from its Horam home in 2005 to Belgium.
Many are also concerned that the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) has remained silent on the issue.
Ukcider, a website which collects information on real cider and perry, has written to the NACM.
Andy Roberts, Ukcider's convener, wrote: "The present exemption is a valuable concession which has enabled a large number of small cider makers to start up in recent years, unbedevilled with the paperwork and expense attendant on paying duty.
"They have been able to produce interesting and distinctive products, making use of fruit that might otherwise go to waste, and sell their cider and perry at a competitive price.
"Like the micro-brewers, they have been instrumental in introducing new tastes and flavours which the larger commercial producers fight shy of.
"Instead of being confined to the West Country and East Anglia, cider making is now carried on in the majority of the counties of England and Wales, and even in Scotland.
"Furthermore, many of these craft producers have sought out and rescued rare and threatened varieties of apples and pears, grafting them and planting new orchards which add diversity to the countryside and to the national stock of fruit."
To sign the petition visit http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/CiderExemption/ Do you regularly enjoy Sussex cider? Or are you a cider producer who would be affected? Tell us below.
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