Industry body’s ambition is for British seasonal berries to continue to provide 100 per cent of the UK’s needs
British Summer Fruits, the industry body that represents 95 per cent of all the UK’s commercial soft fruit growers, is relaunching and rebranding to become British Berry Growers.
Since 1992, the UK’s crop association for the soft fruit industry has supported UK growers to build a billion-pound industry and the largest within UK horticulture.
British Berry Growers’ ambition is for British seasonal berries to continue to provide 100 per cent of the UK’s needs, and for industry exports to be 50 per cent bigger than British sales volumes by 2035.
According to the newly-rebranded organisation, it will have four key effort priorities. The first is to ensure understanding of the British berry industry’s positive contribution to a sustainable rural economy and the nation’s health, and shape government policy to support British Berry Growers’ mission
The second priority is to direct world-leading berry research and development that supports treatment of pest and disease, crop utilisation and drives future efficiencies, including the reduction of the carbon, waste and water footprint of the UK berry industry.
Thirdly, the industry body will look to grow sales for berries by building UK consumer awareness and advocacy, focusing on British berries first and driving overall consumer demand by covering 52 weeks of the year.
Finally, British Berry Growers will aim to identify and tackle the industry’s key risks to ensure its long-term viability and to provide issues support for UK berry growers.
“The launch of British Berry Growers marks an exciting moment for the British berry industry,” said British Berry Growers chair Nick Marston.
“The British berry industry is a true British business success story,” he continued. ”Now worth over £1.6bn year-round, the value of the industry has doubled in just a decade. Our growers sit at the heart of the rural economy and our industry is recognised as a key contributor to UK food self-sufficiency.
“British Berry Growers will champion the tireless work of our berry growers, both big and small, and support them as they adapt to the future challenges of seasonal berry production,” Marston added. “We’re here to secure the long-term success of the British berry industry.”
The creation of British Berry Growers brings with it the launch of a new dedicated R&D advisory board.
Its purpose will be to enable British Berry Growers to become recognised as one of the best crop associations in the world technically and environmentally.
Two new non-executive directors have also been appointed to the British Berry Growers organisation.
Former MEP Anthea McIntyre CBE joins the organisation to advise and support the organisation on policy matters, while Dr Louise Sutherland brings her years of expertise in agri-tech to scope and set up the newly formed R&D advisory board.
British Berry Growers will continue to fund Love Fresh Berries, the organisation’s all year-round PR and social media campaign to promote strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and all berry industry activities.
