At a time when growers are describing this year as one of the most challenging for a long time, with drought, rain, storms and more storms leading to waterlogged fields and crop being left in the ground, combined with increasing costs and little, if any increase in returns how can we be seeing a whole range of seasonal produce on the supermarket shelves for £0.15p?
Just last week Jack Ward CEO of British Growers told FreshPlaza: "Growers have been supplying the Christmas market for a long time and are very adept at dealing with the pressures. What doesn’t help is pre-Christmas discounts, which stimulate buying and puts more stress on supply. This may lead to growers harvesting more now to meet demand, and then we may see shortages in February and March.
This is a difficult season on top of previous difficult seasons, with increasing costs, and if growers are putting in their all and not seeing the returns, it can really erode grower confidence. Cauliflower in 2015 was £1, they are now selling at £0.95p in one major retailer, this is reflected in the comparisons for other vegetables. There is just not enough money in the systems to reward everyone, including the retailers.”
Dale Robinson from Riverford Organics shared a post in LinkedIn: