Fuel supplier Rix Petroleum East Anglia has fixed the price of diesel until the end of harvest.

The Attleborough-based company is offering customers the chance to order sufficient diesel for the whole of the harvest at one time – rather than just the volume they are able to store – meaning they pay a single price for the fuel.

Rix Petroleum will then store it and deliver it on request, allowing farmers to avoid sudden hikes in diesel prices over the coming weeks by having to top up when demand is at its greatest.

The move comes after turmoil in the international oil markets has led to wide fluctuations in the price of petroleum, making it difficult for farmers to manage their fuel costs effectively.

The price fix is also available to hauliers over the next three months.

Rory Beath, director, said that continuing unease in the Middle East was fuelling uncertainty in global oil markets.

This has the potential to impact heavily on British farmers and hauliers, he said.

“None of us like watching the price spiral at the pumps when we fill up and the effect on farmers and hauliers, who are often buying 100,000 litres of diesel at a time, can be severe.”