The federation believes any future fuel price increases should be scrapped until a "stabiliser" was put in place to freeze or reduce duty to match increases in VAT revenues from higher pump costs.

Farmers For Action (FFA) has also joined the growing ranks of dissenters, furious at the damage being done to the rural economy, and held a meeting to discuss what action to take on Wednesday.

Chairman David Handley, a Cornishman who farms in Wales and was one of the chief protagonists of the 2000 blockades, said increased fuel bills were pushing some of his members out of business.

Mr Handley said there are "a lot of angry people like there were in 2000" and warned that a protest could "quite easily happen".

But he said the picture was very different to that which sparked action in the past and feared that a two or three pence cut would make little or no difference to struggling farmers.

"If the food chain in whatever sector was working as it should be with profit shared equally then we wouldn't have an issue with the price of fuel," he added.

"Our problem is that we have no way of recovering the costs and all this will do is drive people out of business – we have got a job even to get a minuscule amount out of retailers.

Quentin Wilson, motoring writer and former Top Gear TV presenter, will protest outside Parliament next week, as part of the Fair Fuel UK Campaign, which has written to every MP, asking for their support on scrapping of April's fuel duty rise and the introduction of a methodology for stabilising fuel prices.