British Food Fortnight kicks off in mid-September and attention will be focussed on how to increase production and consumption of home-grown fruit and vegetables.
After years of decline, 2010 saw production of British fruit and vegetables increase by two per cent, according to DEFRA statistics. Winter cabbage increased by 11 per cent, asparagus was up by 11 per cent, leeks up by 12 per cent and carrots up by four per cent. Fruit production was also up, and pears in particular had a 60 per cent increase in production, though the 2011 forecast is expected to be somewhat lower.
The figures represent a welcome change. Over the 20 years from 1988 to 2008, home production of vegetables declined by 23 per cent while imports increased by 51 per cent. Last year, the government’s Fruit & Vegetable Task Force, which was charged with increasing production and consumption of home-grown produce, issued a list of recommendations, including improving supply chain relationships and encouraging industry promotions such as the summer berries campaign. An industry action plan was developed, which has set a target to increase self sufficiency of indigenous vegetables to 73 per cent and indigenous fruit to 50 per cent.
“Broadly speaking, there has been an increasing trend in the production of certain niche and specialist crops such as asparagus, soft-fruit varieties and cherries, and even the introduction of crops such as melons, which previously weren’t grown in this country,” says Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, NFU chief adviser for horticulture and potatoes. There is still much to be done though. “Tomatoes stand out as a prime example,” she adds. “The UK only produces 20 per cent of what we consume; the remaining 80 per cent is imported.”
Despite fruit and vegetable production having increased, DEFRA statistics show that overall home production marketed as a percentage of total supply has remained stable at 57 per cent for vegetables and 12 per cent for fruit. In addition, many producers are struggling with poor supermarket returns.
One of the challenges for the industry is how to combine higher levels of production with better returns, says Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears. “There has been a massive investment in orchards and facilities and as a result of that we have seen our production of dessert apples increasing considerably, and since 2005-06 we have seen an increase of 41 per cent in sales to supermarkets,” he says. “Obviously, this is very valuable to the country at a time when there are such economic difficulties, and I think we will continue to see increases, but it is very dependent on returns to growers. We need to take into consideration that growers’ costs have risen seven per cent so there is a considerable amount that the industry requires in terms of increased prices this year to compensate.”
Liz Bowles, south west regional manager of food chain consultancy EFFP, agrees that there are a number of barriers to increasing home-grown production. “In 2009-10, we carried out a survey of growers and they told us that UK retailers lacked commitment to UK growers. Without this, it was difficult for them to justify the investments necessary as the likely returns were uncertain. The higher the investment needed, the greater the barrier this lack of commitment represents.The reality for growers is they are in a very competitive marketplace and in many sectors imported produce is very price competitive.”
Field vegetable growers increasingly have the option of alternative crops, she says, with more predictable returns. “They can lock into a forward price for wheat, which will give them a guaranteed return and reduce their risk significantly. In order to break this stalemate, closer dialogue between growers and retailers is needed, which in turn requires more collective working from producers.”
Nigel Jenney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), argues that the government “needs to take swifter action to deliver its commitment to reduce unnecessary burdens on the industry.This will give the industry every opportunity to increase UK production and encourage greater consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables,” he says.
The FPC has just lobbied the department for business, innovation and skills (BIS) in its consultation on freeing up business growth, because, says Jenney, “we’ve seen very little progress by the UK government to stand up to the European Commission and tackle the cumulative impact of unnecessary regulation.”
Lengthening the growing season is one area where some producers have had success. “The use of polytunnels in the soft-fruit sector is the major success story,” says Campbell-Gibbons. “These structures are allowing growers to compete with foreign imports and keep food miles down, while offering consumers great tasting British products for more of the year. The British soft-fruit industry alone is worth £185m a year and polytunnels have been a key element in the sector’s development. Reverse growing techniques are also enabling extensions to the asparagus season, through to November in some areas, which is another positive example of how imports can be displaced.”
Jenney agrees. “There is potential to extend the growing season for some crops in the UK and we have seen some highly successful examples of this, such as strawberries and asparagus,” he says. “UK growers have a significant opportunity to increase the sustainable production of indigenous crops which are suited to our climate.We believe that DEFRA should identify those indigenous crops with greater production potential than is achieved currently and ensure that the sector has the necessary tools to maximise this potential.”
Campbell-Gibbons argues that the horticulture sector and supply chain will also have to address some fundamental, structural questions if it is to maintain and improve its competitive position. “Are British horticultural businesses and processing facilities as well invested and efficient as others in Europe and internationally?” she asks. “Is our supply chain functioning as fairly and transparently as it could to offer growers the confidence they need to invest in their businesses for the long term? For those who choose to import fruit and vegetables that could be produced at home, what compromises on quality, assurance, traceability and long-term food security are they risking?”
An important role for the task force has been to generate a long-awaited yet crucial industry debate in many of these areas. A small island will never be entirely self-sufficient of course - there are some things the UK will never be able to grow competitively - but with extensions to the growing season brought about by the use of polytunnels, new plant and seed varieties and a cross-industry commitment to remove barriers to productivity, the sky should be the limit for the British horticulture sector.
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