According to the Jersey Farmers’ Union, the island’s food-supply chain is in dire straits, with growers continuing to feel the pain as their costs are soaring. Oil prices have almost doubled, the cost of fertiliser has tripled in three years and moving crops from the farm to the supermarket has become more expensive, JFU president Peter Le Maistre said.
However, according to Le Maistre, retailers are reluctant to raise their prices to reflect these spiraling production costs, as the cost-of-living crisis is already affecting consumers. “No one wants the prices to go up in the shops because everyone is under such huge pressure at the moment. I think the retailers are saying they can’t put prices up because people have less money in their pockets, but growers are saying if you don’t put prices up we will stop producing.”
The island’s largest vegetable producer, Woodside Farms, ended its 135-year business in August this year. The company was producing up to 80% of the island’s fresh vegetables.
Source: jerseyeveningpost.com