Recipe for a Greener Curry, by Zeenat Anjari for London Food Link, found that UK growers could improve their relationships with suppliers to ethnic communities and so develop a new market.

“There are some strengths already there, especially in the Midlands,” said Anjari. “For example, there are some ethnic minority wholesalers who own land or are in partnership with growers to provide what the urban community demands, such as methi, coriander and specific varieties of spinach. These relationships do not seem to exist in the south of England, where there is a lack of contact with local growers and a lack of awareness [among them] of the demands of these urban communities.”

Anjari’s report also found that there were opportunities for growers to align supplies with different ethnic festivals. “This is not just a niche market - one in four Londoners is from an ethnic minority,” she said. “There are ethnic communities that are well established and tight-knit, and demand is growing, with fixed peaks and troughs a feature of the market.”

Some growers are already responding to meet demand, such as Anglia Salads in Essex, which grows Chinese vegetables such as Pak Choi to supply the Chinese and south-east Asian markets. There are also more opportunities nation-wide for growers to supply south Asian vegetables for the Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities such as kerela, mouli and dhoodi, some of which are already being grown in small volumes in the UK.

Research for Recipe for a Greener Curry also uncovered a lack of knowledge about sustainable food supply and an inadequate supply infrastructure, as well as inappropriate help from business support agencies. London Food Link is now recommending a local-to-London brand and highlights the fact that the city does not yet have its own regional food group.

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