The first signs that the soft-fruit sector could be losing its touch have seen growers and suppliers working harder than ever to ensure that the right volumes are available at the right time, just as the UK season gets into full swing.
The industry has struggled to overcome the prolonged cold snap in April, followed by a short heatwave in May, before a series of bank holiday wash-outs and continued erratic weather hit the category.
A strike by Spanish hauliers over fuel prices last week, followed by the threat of further action in France, has disrupted exports, cutting off new arrivals at a time when both supply and demand should be building to a peak, and causing “horrendous” difficulties.
The first strawberry slump for a long time was recorded over the last 12 weeks, with value dropping 17 per cent, to interrupt a steady period of growth.
Spanish strawberry production was held back by the weather, with yields down a dramatic 30 per cent, which caused a general shortfall to the UK market.
“Spanish growers had a lot less fruit than they were expecting - it wasn’t pleasant, especially for the producers out there,” says one insider. “The strength of the euro against the pound really put pressure on prices in the UK.
“But towards the back end of the season, the quality of the fruit has been the best we have seen in a long time, but volumes have not been fantastic.
“The euro effect will not have helped anybody, especially as supermarkets tend to set their strategies pre-season, so whether they got their full supply I don’t know.”
The first UK growers supplying the tight market in April enjoyed higher prices than last year, as they benefited from the Spanish shortfall. But the domestic maincrop, which came on stream in May, was up to 10 days late, which gave Spanish growers the opportunity to carry on exporting longer than usual, into the third week.
“The fruit is not the best we have had, because the weather has been quite wet and the tunnels have been humid,” says one importer. “Sales have been fine up until now, but the weather has changed - we don’t know what this will mean if it continues next week, when the peak of the crop comes through.”
Supplies are expected to meet demand in the first week of the Wimbledon fortnight and, in the second week, Scottish production should come on stream. If the weather is good, volumes could fall short by the end of the tournament.
The raspberry sub-sector has probably had the most positive run over the last three months, with market value growth at 20 per cent, while demand has remained strong despite ups and downs in the weather.
Volumes started out of Spain in April and, though production was lower than last year, it was not hit as badly as strawberries.
UK glasshouse growers were able to secure higher prices than last year, when supply came on stream in the same month. There were initially some problems with mixed maturity following the switch to the outdoor crop, but quality has since improved.
The peak of English production is expected next week and, according to insiders, sales are going strong, especially after a pre-peak flush of fruit last week.
Those operating in the blueberry sub-sector have had a tricky time this quarter, and a shortage of fruit could be on the horizon at the end of this month. Spanish volumes were lower than expected, while Florida produced decent-quality fruit, but sendings from France and the Netherlands are behind and will come on stream next week, around 10 days later than usual. English production is set to start in limited volumes, paving the way for years to come, when home-grown supply will be more popular.
Blackberries, on the other hand, have enjoyed exceptional growth this year, with tonnages up 50 per cent on 2007. Demand has remained steady both over the winter and summer, since sales started to gain momentum last autumn. Better-quality product and consistent supply, mainly from Mexico, has helped drive the sub-category forward.
“It all started when blueberries were short back in September last year, following a frost in Argentina,” says an importer. “Blackberries sold very well at that time, possibly as a replacement, but they have kept it going since then and consumers have kept buying them.”
Supplies from Mexico were consistent and met high standards, until they reached an end in mid-May. Dutch and English glasshouse production has seen some high-quality fruit reach the market.
The soft-fruit category, overall, relates to the weather more than most other sectors in the fruit industry, so how the next three months will shape up is expected to correlate to the weather, though the short-term forecast does not look promising.
“Retailers say that if temperatures are 22ºC or above, they sell more than they expect but, as it is now, they are selling 30 per cent less fruit than they would like,” says an insider. “But there are no real issues with the crop and quality is good, so there is no other reason why this should not be a good season.”
But there are still a number of challenges posing obstacles to the sector, including mounting production costs, the strength of the euro and labour shortages.
The UK soft-fruit industry has rallied together to warn it is nearing a labour crisis, which is set to hit hard this season. There are very real concerns that a shortage of seasonal workers could see UK fruit left unpicked, and a number of UK growers and labour providers have publicly vented their frustrations.
Demand for seasonal labour in the UK has increased by eight per cent a year for the last four years, with the soft-fruit sector accounting for a major proportion of this increase, while reliable labour has become harder to come by.
This year, a shortage of applicants from A8 nations, coupled with restrictions in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Scheme (SAWS) to A2 countries has resulted in the shortages.
“There is no question that labour is going to be an issue,” says one insider. “We have enough pickers at the moment, but we are not going to get any more, and we are going to need more. This shortage will eliminate peaks in the season, and we will see availability level off soon because we won’t be able to get enough pickers to cope with peaks in production, when you would normally see massive spikes.
“Unless we get aliens from outer space landing in the field to help us pick, the situation is not going to get any easier this season.”
The sector has been advised that the most practical answers to the problem include giving workers better opportunities to earn and more continuity, improvements in productivity, as well as offering attractive and enjoyable roles, in an attempt to keep the pickers they already have.
The trade has pledged to continue lobbying the government on this issue until its voice is heard, but it insists that any action by the government now will be too late to help growers this season.
QUICK REACTION ESSENTIAL FOR CPM
CPM Retail Ltd became part of the AG Thames Group in April and, since then, it has embarked on a programme of expansion through its access to greater resources, says director Paul Kidd.
A three-year deal to market the fruit grown at Polehouse Nurseries, which we agreed in February, has given us substantial production, lengthening our UK offer and giving us a wider varietal range.
Many would have argued that there was no demand for another soft-fruit marketing company when we started out. We think that we have proved them wrong by not being just another company. This difficult product area requires quick reactions to fluctuations in supply and demand, as well as customer requirements, and we have grown through our ability to react more quickly than others.
CPM is based on the East Malling Research (EMR) site, a renowned centre for soft-fruit development in the heart of the berry-growing area in Kent. The business was formed five years ago by myself and Jon King, and has now achieved a 52-week supply base of imported and home-grown berries, as well as cherries. Our aim is to satisfy consumer demands for product by focusing on their needs and aspirations. When we started out, we wanted to focus on regionality. We wanted to respond to demands to see local fruit in nearby stores. Since those days, we have reduced the number of lines we source to concentrate on soft fruit and cherries, but regionality and shorter supply chains are still important drivers.
A number of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are produced at our sites. The strawberry varieties we grow include Elsanta, Sonata, Darselect, Lambarda, Evie 2, Albion, Diamonte, and Pearl, as well as CPM 56 and CPM 82. Ample, Octavia, Tulameen and Polka make up our raspberry offer, while Karaka Black, Chester, Loch Ness and Loch Tay are the blackberries we have chosen.
We believe in research and development and, as such, have become members of the recently formed Strawberry Breeding Club, based at EMR. Our growers and suppliers are involved in projects working towards the aim of residue-free product. We have recently recruited a new technical manager, Tom Rogers, who will be driving work in the areas of R&D and new varietal development. We also have a packaging working group looking at environmental impact and cost reduction, as well as a team working on our local offer.
We are teaming up with a wider range of import suppliers in order to achieve a comprehensive and innovative offer of quality varieties all year round.
From our perspective, the last three months have been very successful. The glasshouse season went well; we are now into tunnels production, and there have been no major issues. The quality of the fruit this season has been good, particularly the later glasshouse product.
There have been industry-wide problems with labour, but this doesn’t appear to have had a significant impact on our growers, as yet.
We have a large number of growers in Scotland, so we dovetail nicely into the UK season and, of course, always have quality imported supply to draw on as necessary. However, we always welcome new growers and suppliers.
We are hoping for a very successful season - our first one as part of the AG Thames Group - although clearly every season has its difficulties.
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