Will financial crisis kill off the English orchard?

THE future of British apples and pears is “on a knife edge” after soaring costs forced orchards to scrap plans to plant a million trees.

The saplings were due to be planted by growers this year. But research has shown almost twothirds have been shelved after a 23 per cent rise in production costs.

Labour for picking the fruit, energy, haulage and packaging have all shot up in price at a time when supermarkets have kept the average amount they pay for them “almost static”.

Growers’ body British Apples and Pears Limited (BAPL) said that the situation is “unsustainable”.

It recently carried out a survey of members which found they received

an average 0.8 per cent year-on-year increase in what supermarkets paid them for their fruit.

This is despite an independent report by consultants Andersons

which recommended growers should receive a minimum 12 per cent rise in returns to cover the increased production costs.

Ali Capper, BAPL executive chair, said that in a normal year about five per cent of the 15 million trees in orchards across Britain are planted as saplings for renewal as it takes eight to 10 years before they produce fruit.

There were plans to plant a million this year but this was scaled back to 480,000 due to the soaring production costs.

But the survey found only 330,000 trees are being planted – a major blow to the long-term prospects of the industry.

A separate study last month showed half of the apples bought during our peak growing season last year came from abroad.

Cheaper production costs in South America and New Zealand, coupled with smaller fruit, made them more attractive to shoppers.

Ms Capper said: “The future of apple and pear growing is seriously in doubt.

“The industry is on a knife edge. “Without long-term investment and tree planting, orchards will quickly go into decline.

“That’s not something any of us wants, least of all the consumer.”