Grower-owned co-operatives must continue to expand with members acting more like shareholders, leading players of the agricultural and horticultural industry were told in London on Tuesday at the annual English Food & Farming Partnership conference.
And while growers may be hoping to take comfort from international success, representatives from outside the UK suggested the road to expansion will be hard.
Hans van Es, director of the Dutch Produce Association (DPA) said: “The game is just beginning.” Large-scale co-operatives with fewer members but larger production units are beginning to run in parallel with competitive, independent fresh produce distributors who are capable of sourcing similar crops world-wide. “Germany and the UK will follow the same pattern,” he predicted.
Van Es cited The Greenery as an example of a company whose grower base has shrunk from 9,500 to 1,600 in the 11 years of its existence. And he expects this figure to reduce by another 1,000 in the next three years, although the volume of produce grown should remain stable.
The company’s largest glasshouses cover 100 hectares, costing between E70 million and E80m. But costs are being recouped partially by trading energy surplus to that required for heating.
Van Es said Dutch mushroom and soft-fruit growers are coming under pressure from eastern European members of the EU, although Dutch exports to major producer countries such as Italy, France and Spain are still rising.
In 10 years time suppliers will become designated “international food providers” offering a total service to 15-20 global retailers, he predicted.
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