British tomato growers are gambling with an investment of £40million a year in producing crops before they receive any return, according to the NFU and the Tomato Growers Association (TGA).

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The news comes as NFU releases its Catalyst for Change report, in which the union reveals a variety of horticultural produce is no longer being grown in the UK; the union blames the changing situation on short-termism in the supply chain and a lack of commitment to growers form retailers. Domestic production of produce including cucumbers and spring onions has fallen over the last ten years.

The union claims “poor supply chain practices and short-term relationships between growers, intermediaries and retailers… are damaging growers’ confidence and ability to make the long-term investments needed for sustainable tomato production.”

NFU chief horticulture and potatoes adviser Hayley Campbell-Gibbons commented on Friday (12th October), “With only one in every five tomatoes eaten in Britain today actually produced here, and less than 40 British tomato growers left, we’re fast reaching the point of losing our critical mass. Growers want to do business with retailers and there is huge potential to increase the production of British tomatoes, displace imports and meet the growing consumer demand for high quality, traceable British food. But, in order to reverse the trend, the supply chain desperately needs to work together to ensure a fairer share of risk and reward.”

Tomato Growers’ Association chairman Nigel Bartle said, “British growers are making a staggering financial commitment to producing tomatoes every year. The average cost of tomato production stands at over £80,000 a hectare. With roughly 200 hectares of glass across the country, growers are investing over forty million pounds a year in growing tomatoes before they get any return from their customer. Even then, there are no guarantees, so it’s a £40million gamble that the industry commits to annually.

“On top of the production costs, there’s also the substantial investment growers make in glasshouses. Investment in glass currently stands at £1million a hectare. So, the cost of doubling our industry from a size of 200 hectares and an 18 per cent market share, to 400 hectares and over 35 per cent market share would be £200million. Growers have to ask to ask themselves whether that’s a gamble worth taking. We want to work with everyone in the supply chain to create a culture that allows substantial long term investments to be made.”

The NFU has launched a ‘Fruit and veg Pledge’ to which it aims to attract signatories in the retail, packing and processing industries. The pledge is a best practice commitment between both ends of the supply chain, which the union believes will result in better, more equitable business relationships.

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