NFU Horticulture & Potatoes Board chair Martin Emmett said the government’s response had “missed the opportunity to grow the British horticulture sector”.
There was no reference to growing UK horticulture within the response, but instead a ‘commitment’ to broadly maintain the UK’s food self-sufficiency at the current level of 60%.
Martin warned that the industry was facing its third year of unprecedented and highly volatile costs of production, with growers having seen profits ‘all but wiped out for the last two years’, with profit margins unlikely to stabilise soon. “The risk and lack of reward is simply too high,” Martin added.
Fruit and vegetable shortages combined with ongoing global instability has left the supply chain “fragile” Martin said.
“We shouldn’t rely on imports to feed the nation. Instead we need government to match its own ambitions for the sector, alongside supporting our ornamental plant and flower businesses to achieve their environmental and biosecurity objectives.
“As a start, we need to give our British growers certainty by having a consistent plan for seasonal labour, including a five-year rolling Seasonal Workers Scheme, as well as sustainable returns and longer-term contracts with their key customers, the retailers and processors.”
