Rising costs and retail pressures could put 40% of British berry growers out of business by 2026, new data from British Berry Growers has revealed.
Almost half (47%) of British berry growers are no longer making a profit and over half (53%) assessed their financial health as bad, or extremely bad, the survey of BBG members showed.
The grower group said that “given the profitability challenges, it is not surprising that 37% of growers surveyed are considering reducing their production or moving out of berry farming entirely”.
If this issue was not quickly addressed, the UK could see a future massive reduction in the supply of fresh British berries for consumers, BBG warned.
“We must take this survey as a wake-up call and a sign to take urgent action,” said Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers. “The future of this great sector hangs in the balance. It would be a travesty to lose British berries.”
According to the latest Defra horticulture production data, soft fruit, despite increasing in value, has declined in production levels in recent years, with strawberries down to 106k tonnes in 2023, a drop of 11% compared with 2022.
Read more: UK fruit & veg production declines yet again, Defra data finds
The industry group said conditions for growers had worsened since the pandemic, with BBG data revealing most growers who were no longer profitable had stopped making a profit after 2020.
Costs of labour, fertilisers, packaging and transport have all increased by an average of £836 per tonne for British strawberries in the past four years – with British raspberries, blackberries and blueberries jumping by an average of £1,911 per tonne, £1,996 per tonne and £2,326 per tonne respectively, according to a report last year by consultancy Andersons Midlands.
Nearly two fifths (39%) of growers said relationships with retailers had never been this bad. BBG has called for fairer returns from supermarkets.
However, “supermarkets are [now] starting to listen,” said Marston. “They are recognising that growers need a fair return to cover the increased costs of production, otherwise they’ll simply move out of berry growing.”
The group has also called for more government support to ensure enough labour and has suggested the lengthening of the Seasonal Worker scheme from six to nine months, which “would ensure we get the people we need to pick our fruit throughout the extended growing season”.
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“We are also calling for an agile and more responsive approval process for berry exports from the UK that would allow British growers to take advantage of market opportunities in the EU and further afield,” he added.
“This feedback from UK berry growers is a warning – a warning we need to take seriously if we are to secure the future of our iconic berries.”
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