The UK tomato industry experienced a change last year that will probably affect the sector for years to come. In November 2008, the main Jersey tomato producer, the Jersey Produce Marketing Organisation, ceased trading and tomato exports from the island ground to a virtual halt, after 72 years of exporting salad products to the UK mainland. The company put the closure down to two bad summers hampering demand and increasing costs not being met by supermarket returns.
For two years after World War II, the UK government bought the whole of the Jersey outdoor crop to help feed the nation. However, having supplied UK markets for generations with outdoor and glasshouse tomatoes, it is unlikely there will be any tomato exports from Jersey this year.
Tomato Growers’ Association (TGA) chief executive Gerry Hayman feels very strongly that the Jersey tomato industry was let down and fears for growers’ livelihoods. “I said a year ago that the industry was at a tipping point and that current market dynamics were not sustainable,” he says. “Supplier returns were not reflecting the value of the product or its cost of production. As a country, we have been living on borrowed time - and not just in our attitude to credit and finance. We have neglected food security and thought we could continue to import cheap food to meet our needs. With the euro having soared against sterling, Canary Islands supplies decimated by bad weather, earlier weather problems in Spain and virus problems in Italy, any British tomato supplier not locked into a supermarket deal could pretty much name its own price at the moment. There is an awful long way to go, of course, but it does prove a point.”
But a welcome boost is on its way this year in the form of the largest greenhouse development in the UK - Thanet Earth in Kent.
Dutch family-run business Kaaij Redstar operates the 10-hectare tomato greenhouse at Thanet Earth in conjunction with joint venture partner Fresca Group. Defined by more than 50 years’ growing experience and its go-getting attitude, Redstar has grown from a small nursery of 800sqm to one of the most successful tomato growers in the Netherlands, with more than 70ha of greenhouse production to its name.
The company transplanted four-week-old tomato plants into its Thanet Earth greenhouse in mid-December last year and took its first pick in mid-March, which was roughly 16 weeks from seed to ripened fruit.
The greenhouse is currently yielding more than 50 tonnes of specialist varieties a week and this is expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks.
The TGA and many UK growers welcome the Thanet Earth project and believe that it will strengthen the industry, which supplies less than 20 per cent of the UK tomato market volume.
Hayman maintains that glasshouse entrepreneurs who have moved to the UK from the Netherlands over the years have made major contributions to the UK tomato industry. However, he believes that it is in its early days and Thanet Earth is a long way off making a major contribution.
“With 10ha of tomato production at Thanet this year, this roughly represents less than four per cent of the 2008 UK production area and less than one per cent of UK consumption,” he says. “It will not compensate for the loss of Jersey supplies and some reduction in mainland acreage in 2009. So the overall effect on the market will not be significant at this stage.
“If you think about why Thanet Earth is here, it cannot be because of lower energy costs in the UK, although land is no doubt a bit cheaper than in the Netherlands,” he adds. “It has to be to take advantage of the market opportunities for a British product, which established growers here have created.”
Evesham Vale Growers’ marketing director David Shepherd believes that Thanet Earth is an ambitious project that will be beneficial for the industry. “It is great for the area down there,” he tells FPJ. “The UK is nowhere near self-sufficient when it comes to the home-grown crop, so it may help reduce some of the imports that the UK market is dependant on to meet demand.”
Ian Reed, technical director at Wight Salads Group (WSG), feels strongly that a growing tomato industry can “only be positive for one and all” in the UK. “We are constantly striving to deliver improved flavour and quality for the British consumer in a very competitive environment,” he says. “We hope Thanet Earth will uphold the fantastic image of high-quality, flavoursome and safe tomatoes that has become synonymous with British production.”
Last year’s season was very challenging for the tomato industry, but high quality was paramount, despite economic and climatic problems. “Although it was a lousy summer, commercial crops under glass produced yields on a par with the previous year and quality was excellent,” says Hayman, “and pest numbers were also generally low.”
However, the poor summer also caused a problem for demand, with consumers going for winter vegetables over salads. Due to some suppliers over-programming, frequent promotions and product meant that returns to growers were adversely affected in places. Sky-high energy costs for some growers added to this challenging mix and it was a tough time for some. According to the TGA, Channel Island growers, with high energy and transport costs and no state support - not being EU members - were hit particularly badly.
This year, production is looking good, with growers signalling an increase in yield next year and a certain resilience to the UK’s contrary weather. “This season could be very good for British producers, especially if we have a hot summer, as was the case in 2003, with a strong demand for British product,” says Hayman. “If the high value of the euro is maintained, this will increase the cost of imports.”
WSG’s yield is on target and has benefited from the unique microclimate and some of the highest light levels in the UK on the Isle of Wight. The company will be looking to expand its production next year. “Production so far looks excellent,” reveals Reed. “Crop health is also superb, which is fortunate as we intend to grow many crops without the use of any artificial pesticides.
“We expect to see a robust industry performance over the next few years, as demand for quality British product continues.”
Evesham Vale Growers is also in the process of extending its tomato production and will see an increase next summer. The company is preparing land for the construction of a new 12-acre site in Worcestershire. This huge investment reinforces Evesham Vale Growers’ belief in the future of British-grown tomatoes, according to Shepherd.
Speciality tomatoes are still making waves, despite the recession. “If you ask [consumers], flavour always comes first, even before price,” says Hayman. “The growth in the past few years has been in speciality types; on-the-vine varieties such as [cherry tomatoes] Piccolo, Aranca, Amorosa and [cocktail] Temptation and [classic round] Elegance have led the charge. Fresh plum varieties, especially baby plum types, have also found a very strong demand.”
Hayman believes that the recession could work for the UK tomato industry when it comes to increasing consumption. “Most of the financial gloom has descended since the end of our main season last year and we are only just getting up to speed for this season,” he admits. “I do not see any premium for speciality tomatoes making them expensive or poor value for money in real terms. The £50 saved by not eating out once will pay for the average person’s fresh tomato consumption for five years.”
WSG produces a variety of organic cherry, on-the-vine, baby plum and midi plum tomatoes, as well as conventional cherry, supersweet cherry, baby plum, cocktail vine, pink beef, yellow beef and pink cherry product, sending in excess of 500t to UK supermarkets and wholesalers a week.
“Demand for speciality tomatoes remains strong - perhaps reflecting changing consumer habits as more people are eating in,” says Reed. “We have also seen an increase in demand for more basic entry point products, also reflecting the increase in price-sensitive consumers.
“But UK consumers are looking for flavour and appearance. Bright fruit with depth of colour, preferably on the vine, is king. There has been a definite switch towards sweeter varieties.”
Evesham Vale Growers, which supplies supermarkets with more than 500,000 packs of speciality tomatoes a week, also believes that there is very much a place for premium ranges in a recession. “In the economic downturn, consumers seem to be tightening up on eating out and cutting down on takeaways,” says Shepherd. “Consequently, they seem to be spending that little bit extra in supermarkets.
“The larger caterers still focus on price as they are under immense pressure to turn around meals often on a least-cost basis, which is not conducive to premium varieties. However, I feel that with time, this will change.”
Consumption of fresh tomatoes continues to rise in the UK, but current consumption is only about 8.5 kg per person per year, according to DEFRA statistics. The message from consumers is that they are disappointed with the eating quality of many tomatoes on offer - of which more than 80 per cent are now imported.
“This does not boost sales,” says Hayman. “It is also probably the reason why tomatoes represent the largest quantity of vegetable seed sold to gardeners, with the current ‘dig for victory’ attitude and rekindled interest in allotments especially.”
Despite this, there is a great belief in the future of the UK tomato in the industry and once more, the TGA will push forward a jam-packed promotional campaign.
British Tomato Week will take place on May 16-22 and will see the association again invade the Houses of Parliament. A number of retailer promotions are planned, along with nursery visits and new website activities. The TGA will also be at various trade and consumer shows, such as the BBC Summer Good Food Show at the NEC, Birmingham, and will be asking for entries for the Tastiest Tomato competition.
“We have had starring roles in a number of recent TV series, such as Jimmy Doherty’s Farming Heroes and The One Show, and are due to feature in two or three more, which are currently in production,” reveals Hayman. “We are again planning the UK Tomato Conference for September 24. And we have plans for a major health promotion, but that is under wraps for the time being.”
Despite the problems surrounding the industry, Hayman is optimistic for this season and believes there are many opportunities out there. “Longer term, I am convinced that we have some great opportunities, if we hook up to alternative energy sources in particular. There are a number of potential projects already being considered and the scale of these would have a big impact on the industry and its competitiveness.”
Many believe that the future of the UK tomato industry lies in production models like Thanet Earth. “There are already several large-scale operations like ours on the continent and if the UK does not reinvest for the future, older, less efficient operations simply will not be able to compete in what is an increasingly competitive environment,” says Hazel Akehurst of Thanet Earth. “Debilitating increases in fuel prices mean that growing tomatoes in the UK is simply not viable unless the grower is able to invest in combined heat and power units and export the energy generated to the National Grid.
“We also believe in embracing new technology, but always tempering this with hands-on, practical experience - like we have in Kaaij Redstar - to improve growing techniques and optimise crop yields.
“This will allow us to grow great-tasting, high-quality tomatoes sustainably and give us the foundations to engage in new product development with more gusto.”
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