UK carrot growers are “beyond crisis point”, as supermarket price battles take no heed of the worst growing season in living memory and are pushing the sector to the brink of survival.
Through trade body the British Carrot Growers’ Association (BCGA), producers have said viability is now a massive concern.
“We have had the worst growing season in memory, with extraordinary levels of rain, and this leaves yields significantly down,” said BCGA chairman Martin Evans. “We have very serious concerns about late-season supplies. Added to this, the price of all inputs - straw, labour and fuel - has gone up substantially.” The cost of red diesel has climbed 70 per cent in three years and the minimum wage means labour costs rise each season.
Evans estimates that with yields down 30 per cent, growers are having to clear more land to achieve volume and sales value. And this is all against a backdrop of slipping retail prices, with profits now inadequately balanced against cost. “The situation is straightforward,” said Evans. “Retail buyers need to listen to the industry and act in their own best interests. At the very least, we need a price rise of 20 per cent to stand still. The alternative is disastrous for the industry.”
One grower told FPJ that Morrisons kicked off the price deflation at the start of the season and, although it backtracked, by then Asda and others had followed suit, so that farm-gate and retail prices are now both below last year’s levels.
Morrisons refused to comment on its carrot pricing when questioned by FPJ, but a spokeswoman for the retailer said of its dealings with growers: “We are committed to working in partnership with our suppliers to ensure an outstanding offer to our customer in terms of quality, value, freshness and service. A good, positive relationship with our suppliers is vital to our success, and we aim to be a loyal customer to our suppliers.”
Asda said that its position was also one of fairness. “We are committed to paying a fair price based on market conditions,” said a spokesman.
But with other, even less weather-resistant crops also facing a tough time, carrot volumes are having to stretch further, which makes it even more unlikely the crop will last out the season. “Carrots always form the background to the winter vegetable offer, but this year there is going to be an even bigger draw on to carrots as the airfreight guys suffer increased costs and brassicas struggle,” said Evans.
Carrot growers have taken their plight nationwide, and Evans has conducted several national and regional radio and television interviews, including on Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 drive-time slot. “We are very media and consumer savvy, and we have done a good job over the last five years in producing a high-quality product,” said Martin Evans. “We have been singled out by Friends of the Earth as having one of the lowest pesticide levels of all vegetable produce.”
But with rent for carrot land spiralling, and wheat prices sky high, guidance from financial institutions to carrot growers is likely to dictate how much, or indeed whether or not, they plant. Unless retailers start to take the economics of supply and demand seriously, the UK carrot situation will only get worse, and imports will have to be relied on.
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