A fruit farmer has issued a warning regarding the state of Britain's food industry following a wet summer that severely impacted his crops. Jonathan Hoskyns, who operates North Perrott Farm in Somerset and represents the third generation of his family in the business, reported a significant reduction in his apple crop due to the adverse weather conditions, with a consequent 75% decrease in the yield of his other crops.
Hoskyns has expressed that small-scale fruit growers throughout Britain are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their operations due to rising costs. This has led him to cease selling produce to supermarkets. He detailed the challenges faced, including a 30% increase in minimum wage over the past three years and a more than doubling of fertiliser costs. These financial pressures have not been matched by a proportional increase in fruit prices in supermarkets, which have risen by 23%.
In response to these challenges, Hoskyns has downsized his apple and pear orchards from 50 acres to 15 acres. He has shifted focus towards producing fruit juice from his apples, which he sells through his farm shop and online, as a strategy to adapt to the new economic pressures. This move comes as a response to the unsustainable increases in production costs relative to the income from selling fresh fruit to supermarkets.
DEFRA has reported a 12% decrease in the United Kingdom's fruit production volumes for the year 2023/24, totaling 585,000 tonnes. Additionally, Bardsley England, a fruit grower in Kent, has commenced winding down operations due to unsustainable losses exceeding £6 million, highlighting the broader challenges faced by the industry.
Source: MailOnline