No realistic alternatives

The British soft fruit industry, one of the few agricultural success stories of the last ten
years, faces a crisis as moves are being made to prevent the use of poly tunnels.

The NFU and British Summer Fruits Association have finally released a code of practice for the use of poly tunnels for the production of soft fruit. The purpose of the code is to enable growers to demonstrate that they are responding to the concerns of members of the public by abiding by the requirements of the code.

Berries currently represent the most important market in which UK fruit growers are involved; sales in UK supermarkets of homegrown berries have increased 130% in the last four years alone. The success of the industry can largely be attributed to the use of the poly tunnel (or Spanish tunnel), which was introduced to British soft fruit farming in 1993.

Ten years ago British soft fruit was seen as an unreliable product, beset by unpredictable weather conditions, prone to disease and damage. The British strawberry is seen as a traditional treat, but, in fact, it is very difficult to grow. Summer rain not only prevents
harvesting, but also spoils the fruit and produces high-cost waste as labour costs prevent the picking of poor quality berries. British-grown berries were produced from June to July; many went for processing, as they were not of high enough quality. Spain, France and America were more successful in the growing of quality fruit due to more reliable climates and, as a result they dominated the UK market with imports. The devastating impact on returns coupled with the increase in growing costs caused many British farmers to give up the cultivation of soft fruit.

Today the poly tunnel is used to protect 80% of the soft fruit sold through supermarkets. It provides protection not only to strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, but to tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peppers and flowers. Prior to the introduction of poly tunnels in England only 50% of the soft fruit yield was class 1; now it is nearer 90%. For a soft fruit grower, this represents the different between having a business and going out of business.

Poly tunnels offer the following benefits:

Poly tunnels extend the fruit season from May to mid autumn where once it was limited to eight weeks, this means British berries can dominate a market place once filled with imports.

Guarantee quality in a market that demands very high standards. Berries are nutritious, as well as delicious fruits, and thanks to an assured level of quality and availability provided by protecting the fruit with poly tunnels, supermarkets increasingly provide more shelf space to them. The increase in the sales of British strawberries reflects the publics’ demand for them.

Guarantee competitive prices in a market beset with price increases. Poly tunnels have reduced wastage, increased yields and enabled labour costs to be kept under control.

The success of the industry has enabled farms to employ 5,000 more staff on a permanent basis and 50,000 on a seasonal basis. Harvesting soft fruit is labour intensive, as every berry needs to be picked by hand.

Essentially, there would be not be, a British soft fruit industry without the use of the poly tunnel.

If you would like a copy of the code please contact the British Summer Fruits Association.

www.britishsummerfruits.co.uk

Spring 2005