UK agriculture should make the most of consumers’ enthusiasm to buy British, according to HSBC’s head of agriculture, Patrick Tomlinson.

The speaker told delegates at The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s conference, entitled The Food Market in Turmoil - Strategies for Survival and Growth, at London’s Imperial College last week, that British produce is gaining even more popularity and the industry should put the necessary requirements in place to provide for this demand.

He said: “A real traction for British has been recorded and the value of British products in this country is increasing; this is only the beginning.

“Undoubtedly, part of the market is prepared to pay more for British produce, and this isn’t comparable to post-war when people were fed up with corned beef from Argentina. British produce is winning over [other] good-quality alternatives.

“There is a definite value for British food and we have to maximise it, and the reward has to go back to the farmers - or else we will not have the product. We are welcoming a premium for British.”

But in light of this, Tomlinson is concerned that primary production of food in the UK was loss-making in 2008 and that this is a long-term trend. He said figures for 2008’s UK agriculture were misleading as, although there was a 36 per cent increase in profit, with a worth of more than £3 billion, if subsidies are taken out of the picture, the industry made a loss.

“The total income from farming in 1973 was £8.2bn and it is now £3.46bn,” he continued. “Farmers will opt to stop production if they are working at a loss and, from the food chain point of view, that is worrying.”

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