Prices for broccoli and cauliflower in the UK have risen on low availability, but growers warn they must not be allowed to drop.
Cauliflower reached 120p a head, and calabrese hit 1200p for 4.5kg wholesale this week.
Alistair Ewan, managing director of East of Scotland Growers and vice-chairman of the Brassica Growers’ Association (BGA), said: “The prices we are seeing now are not high. They are where they ought to be and we cannot afford to let them drop. The cost of production is going through the roof.”
According to Ewan, the higher prices are also reflective of the situation of low availability. “We are at the crossover between the early crop and the open field maincrop, so availability will get stronger soon,” he explained. “But everyone will be trying to push the prices down, and we need the whole supply chain to try to keep prices up if we are going to keep sustainability in the UK brassica industry for the future.”
Many growers are already being very tempted by prices for wheat of £150 a tonne, as well as a greatly reduced risk when compared to growing calabrese and cauliflower. “As producers, we are very concerned,” said Ewan. “We are putting a huge amount of investment into these crops and, even at £1 a head, cauliflower is still a very good buy. But for long-term sustainability we need help price-wise.”
The BGA vice-chair calculates costs are up 20 per cent compared to this point in the season last year, but that worse is to come. “That is nothing compared to where we will be in 2009, as we don’t know where fuel prices are going,” he explained.
Ewan is also calling on his sector to lobby the Home Office over the phase out of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. “We are supposed to make up the shortfall with workers from EU member states, but with the strength of the euro they just do not want to come here,” said Ewan. “We have to pay them more just to attract them. The whole industry must lobby and contact their MPs to save the scheme.”
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