An unfair ruling by Defra threatens the UK top fruit industry, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) warned today.
NFU vice president Michael Paske has slammed a decision by food minister Lord Whitty to ban the continued use of chemical Thinsec – or carbaryl – while the product has approval across Europe, and despite continued pleas from the union.
The product allows growers to reduce the number of apples or pears on overloaded trees, so the remaining fruit can grow to a good size.
NFU officials say growers will now have to thin all UK crops by hand, costing ten times more than it would to apply the product.
Paske said: 'The additional costs of thinning fruit by hand – particularly when there is insufficient casual labour to do it – threatens to send our entire top fruit industry to the wall.
'As a member of the European community, this kind of trading disadvantage for our farmers is entirely unacceptable.' He added that Whitty's decision made little sense, especially since UK growers may be able to start using Thinsec again following the European review of crop protection measures.
The EU review of active substances is set to be concluded by 2008.
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