The number of potato growers in Britain could fall below 2,000 this year. This marks a “staggering decline” from 16,000 growers just 20 years ago.
The claim came from Allan Stevenson, chairman of the Potato Council. Speaking at the Farming Scotland conference last week, he said that numbers stood around 2,200 last year and he “wouldn’t be surprised” if they fell below 2,000 in 2013. This wasn’t necessarily a problem, he added, as consolidation could lead to a “more professional” sector.
“Who wants to play this game when the cost for 500 acres is over £1 million?” Stevenson asked the conference. “Maybe retiring or exiting is the best option for many. Britain doesn’t need more than 1,000 [potato] growers; people don’t like it when I say that but I think it would provide a better economic environment for everyone.”
Stevenson also highlighted a 31 per cent fall in potato production in the last 10 years. Volatility in price and the weather wasn’t helping, he explained, with the 2012 floods leading to potato growers having “wrecked soil structure” and being “thrown out of farms” up and down the country. “There won’t be as much land available this year as last – and what there is will cost more,” he said during his speech at the conference.
Meanwhile, the Potato Council is hoping that “constructive engagement” will improve relationships with retailers that it says have little understanding of the challenges facing growers.
Potato growers receive, on average, just 20 per cent of the retail price and promotions such as bogofs have “bust” the supply chain.
Stevenson said: “Producing potatoes isn’t the same as producing tins of beans year after year – there are external factors. Retailers are not necessarily very good at understanding issues of supply, [the impact of] promotional activity, or talking to suppliers.”
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