Apple growers warn price rises ‘inevitable’ due to government policy

The cost of producing a kilogramme of apples is expected to rise by 7p this year due to recent budget announcements, new analysis has revealed.

The data from Andersons Farm Consulting, commissioned by British Apples & Pears, has revealed the cost of producing a kilo of apples will rise by 5.3% from £1.33 to £1.40.

The grower group said this was directly related to recent government policy announcements around labour costs and predicted that apple and pear growers were facing a 10% increase in labour costs – which represent 50% of the total costs of producing the crop.

In the autumn budget, the government announced the National Insurance rate for employers would increase from 13.8% to 15%, while the threshold on employee earnings at which NI applies would reduce from £9,100 to £5,000.

BAP warned that food price rises in 2025 were “now an inevitable consequence of recent government policy”.

“Growers’ margins have been stripped to the bone, so these increases in the cost of producing British apples and pears will have to be passed on to retailers, who have already said they will have to pass on wage rises to consumers,” said Ali Capper, executive chair of BAP.

“Shoppers will end up paying more for their fresh apples and pears,” added Capper. “Food price inflation is a direct consequence of government policy.”

This echoes similar warnings from the NFU last week. Martin Emmett, NFU horticulture and potatoes board chair, said government policy added unexpected and “very significant” extra costs on to the already struggling horticulture sector.

Emmett said some of the NFU’s members were already reducing working hours to offset the additional costs, and in the most extreme cases redundancies were now being considered.

“These changes will impact growers, retailers, shoppers and could even tip the country into recession as consumer demand declines in the face of price rises,” said Capper. “On top of that, growers are now facing the costs associated with the newly proposed changes to Inheritance Tax.

“The costs associated with tax planning will also have to be priced in for the future.”