The , published in November last year, said that UK horticulture was at a crossroads, and had been 鈥榰nder-prioritised and unappreciated by policymakers鈥�, leaving holes in the UK鈥檚 food security.
Disappointingly, many of the committee鈥檚 recommendations have not been carried forwards.聽
This is despite the horticulture sector being earmarked by the government at its Farm to Fork summit as an area for growth, and the promise of a Horticulture Strategy within its own , published in 2022.
鈥楽upply chain is fragile鈥�
NFU Horticulture & Potatoes Board chair Martin Emmett said the government鈥檚 response had 鈥渕issed the opportunity to grow the British horticulture sector鈥�.
There was no reference to growing UK horticulture within the response, but instead a 鈥榗ommitment鈥� to broadly maintain the UK鈥檚 food self-sufficiency at the current level of 60%.
Martin warned that the industry is facing its third year of unprecedented and highly volatile costs of production, referencing the recently published Promar report, which found that growers have seen profits 鈥榓ll but wiped out for the last 2 years鈥�, with profit margins unlikely to stabilise soon.
鈥淭he risk and lack of reward is simply too high,鈥� Martin added.
鈥�The British horticulture sector is worth 拢5 billion to the UK economy, yet despite its own ambitions, much of the government鈥檚 response seems to have missed the opportunity to grow the British horticulture sector.鈥�
NFU Horticulture & Potatoes Board chair Martin Emmett
Fruit and vegetable shortages combined with ongoing global instability has left the supply chain 鈥渇ragile鈥� Martin said.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 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.
鈥淎s 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.鈥�
Key points at a glance:
- Responding to the report recommendation to publish the findings from the review into fairness into the horticulture supply chain as soon as possible, and to include ornamentals within its scope, the government said 鈥榯he decision to exclude ornamentals does not preclude Defra from consulting on the sector at a later point鈥�.
- On seasonal workers, the government has said it will publish its response to the Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain in early 2024 and that it is 鈥榗arefully considering鈥� the Migration Advisory Committee鈥檚 latest review of the Shortage Occupation list.
- MPs recommended horticulture to be recognised as an energy-intensive industry and added to the list of sectors eligible for the ETII (Energy and Trade Intensive Industries) scheme to which the government said it would explore how horticulture can be better represented through the UK Standard Industrial Classification codes, used to assess sector eligibility for energy support schemes.
- The report also called for clarity on the risk model proposed as part of post-Brexit import controls under the BTOM (Border Target Operating Model). The government said it 鈥榳ill provide traders and trading partners with at least three months鈥� notice of any change to risk categorisation so they can adapt their processes as needed鈥�.
