It is with scepticism that many in the UK vegetable trade have approached the government’s shift in attitudes towards self-sufficiency in the last few years.
And on reading reports last week that a 73 per cent dependence on indigenous vegetable crops is the desired target, cynicism was likely to have been rife. But growers will have been encouraged to see the figure come not from government but from its advisors in the Fruit and Vegetables Task Force, which delivered an action plan to sustainably increase the home-grown trade and boost consumer demand to retain value in the market.
One setback already facing UK growers is the tumult on the pesticide front. The extent to which the reconstitution of both the advisory committee on pesticides and the pesticide residues committee into two further committees of experts, announced earlier this month, will affect growers is as yet unclear, but the number of products growers can use is undoubtedly dwindling and any delay in improving the situation is unlikely to be helpful.
In the field, it is set to be a particularly cold winter if long-term forecasts are to be believed, and after the difficulty of a dry summer in which irrigation was tough, growers will be hoping the British weather plays its usual trick of defying predictions.
As sweetcorn specialist Barfoots of Botley pointed out in recording positive financial results this month, the vegetable market remains tough in a ‘new normal’, highly competitive market, so any issues with the weather are further accentuated in the current economic climate.
In the brassica sector, it is hoped fears over the adoption rate of the Love Your Greens campaign will abate soon. Going into the second year of the promotional push - which covers broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and swede and hopes to extend this with the added resources of more funding - just 26 of the 72 Brassica Growers’ Association members are backing the campaign financially.
Despite that, there are signs that the initiative is working. Although sales traditionally slow during the summer, while the campaign has been live in 2010, sales increased with volumes up 1.7 per cent (Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 3 October, 2010), compared to the previous year which showed a five per cent year-on-year decline in sales during a similar period (52 w/e 6 September, 2009). Sources believe that, with extra help from growers, the campaign run by Pam Lloyd PR can prove the difference.
One area seeing an injection of pace is the carrot and parsnip sub-sector. Major supplier Huntapac Produce has introduced a new Roots brand which it hopes will add some much needed glamour to the category through widespread pack and vehicle branding as well as use of social media. Roots-branded carrots from Lancashire have arrived in Booths with parsnips set to follow in their wake.
At the British Carrot Growers’ Association’s (BCGA) annual variety demonstration and trade exhibition in Papplewick, Nottinghamshire this month, a preview of what is to come was on offer.
Seed companies Nickerson-Zwaan, Elsoms Seeds, Clause Tezier, Seminis, Nunhems and Rijk Zwaan displayed more than 40 varieties on their trial sites at Barracks Farm.
There was a common feeling that some seed breeders are looking to increase demand for varieties other than the widely used, reliable Nairobi carrot.
Monsanto company Seminis had some interesting developments on show. The strong top-lifting carrot RX1062 is proving perhaps the most interesting main to late season variety. Its bulky qualities make it a robust choice and trials in Shropshire have proved successful. Elsewhere, the development variety RX2269 is also proving useful for those seeking length with heavier soils. Nickerson-Zwaan also had some interesting carrots, grown by Vilmorin, including Attilio F1, which is in its first commercial year. The carrot has high dry matter, good frost resistance and is aimed at the pre-pack market.
BCGA treasurer John Birkenshaw told FPJ at the event: “It has been an expensive year because of the dry summer and attention to scheduling and accuracy has been vital. Where they have had enough water, yields have been good, and you have to be careful too much water does not create cavity spot. The winter will prove the test.”
UK SHALLOTS CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON THE EMERGING FOODIE CLASS
Worth a modest £8.6 million at retail value, the UK shallot market has increased by 46 per cent in the last five years, but where does the sub-category go next to ensure profitability? Elizabeth O’Keefe finds that growers are certain that their niche should remain just that.
There is no doubt that the surge in the popularity of UK shallots in recent years has been fuelled by the increase in popularity of home cooking.
Shallots really are the fashionable choice of onion with food enthusiasts, with celebrity chefs playing a big part in the growth of the market. The total volume of shallots sold in the UK has increased by 27 per cent in the last years to 2.9m kilos, and household penetration stands at 13.4 per cent.
Although the progress of originally low volume niche products is often overhyped by momentarily impressively large percentages, for a market to practically double in size is good news for any industry. But shallot growers are keen to maintain a realistic perspective, and with that a profitable bottom line.
When asked how much the sector was planning to expand, a modest answer comes from FB Parrish and Son’s Paul Cripsey, who is also the chair of promotional growers’ group UK Shallots.
“Growers are very pleased that consumers are embracing cooking with shallots and are confident that they will continue to do so,” he says. “That said, growers believe that UK shallots will always be more of a niche product rather than a mass market product.”
And it seems that UK shallots have found themselves a comfortable place to fill on the marketplace, with the foodie class of consumers lapping up the versatile, convenient onion. Cripsey goes on to say that the marketing plans for the UK Shallot campaign for 2010/11 will continue to focus primarily on ABC1 consumers from single or two-member households with no children and money to spend on food shopping.
“Shallots tend to be bought and enjoyed by passionate, discerning home cooks, enthusiastic foodies and professional chefs alike. The campaign for UK Shallots has benefitted from an increase in the popularity of cooking gourmet meals at home and celebrity chefs’ wholehearted endorsement of the superiority of shallots as a key ingredient in a variety of dishes. The 2010/11 campaign will therefore concentrate on this core market through a combination of targeted public relations activity and below the line marketing.”
Planned activities for the promotion include new recipe development, recipe and product focused media relations, celebrity chef endorsement and website development, including an extension of social networking activity.
Also UK shallot growers should fare better than their European counterparts, who are experiencing a significantly lower shallot harvest this year. The spring weather conditions in the Netherlands and France - which dominate the shallot market - were far from ideal. In France, production is predicted to be down 27 per cent, while Dutch production is expected to be down by as much as 20 per cent compared to 2009.
One of the country’s biggest shallot growers, Lincolnshire-based Oldershaw Group, thinks there is an interesting season ahead. “Demand for UK shallots is growing every year and 2010/11 will be no exception,” says director Robert Oldershaw Jnr. “There is no doubt that yields are increasing and as an industry as a whole, we are becoming better growers and producing better quality than ever before.”
UK growers saw a late start of 10 days to the shallot season due to this year’s extremes in weather conditions. The planting season is in February, which experienced one of the coldest months since 1991. It was also one of the wettest months, with twice the normal amount of rainfall in the key growing area of eastern England. This was followed by the driest spring for 26 years and this summer’s hot and dry weather has meant that the crop has needed extensive irrigation to achieve yields. However the industry maintains that the crop will be firm and have “exceptional taste”.
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