Berry growers accuse retailers of holding profits

Berry growers in the UK have accused supermarkets of pocketing the profits of higher soft fruit prices and failing to fairly compensate struggling producers, a recent report has stated.

According to the trade body British Berry Growers, retailers paid the same price for strawberries throughout 2022 despite an 11 per cent increase in the average per kilo selling price last year while the trend is still on for 2023.

“The squeeze on the British berry industry, which faces rising production costs and flat returns from supermarkets, is seriously threatening [our] viability,” said Nick Marston, chair of the BBG, warning that there will be fewer British strawberries on supermarket shelves next summer after growers planted 8 per cent fewer crops for the 2024 season, which would amount to an estimated 9mn fewer punnets.

Marston said growers were increasingly turning to export markets where they could make a higher return. They plan to export four times as many berries in 2023 as in 2022, Financial Times reported citing results of a BBG survey of their members.

“Growers are not making money. If they can’t make a profit, then slowly they will stop doing it,” he said. “The British fresh produce market is very low value compared to most western countries.”

BBG’s claim comes a month after it reported that UK will have a bigger, juicier and sweeter strawberries this year.

Read more about on ‘Strawberries crop arrives late but, with bigger, sweeter berries.

“British strawberry season has finally arrived a month later than last year’s first harvests due to the unsettled Spring weather. A cooler than average April and May means that the nation can expect to enjoy bigger and juicier strawberries than previous years due to a slower ripening period. However, the recent bright sunny days and the cooler nights have led senior agronomists to report that the fruit will be particularly sweet. Cooler nights allow strawberry plants to rest well and put their energy gained from the day into producing high natural sugars at night,” BBG stated.

“Our strawberry crop has arrived a little later this year – but the good news is that they are well worth the wait. Cooler spring weather means that strawberries have ripened a little more slowly which allows them to grow particularly large – and the recent bright weather has boosted their sugar content ensuring they’re incredibly sweet tasting too. “Advanced growing techniques now mean we now produce fresh British strawberries from May right through to October. That’s great news for UK shoppers and it means big business for the UK economy too,” Marston stated at the time.

Grocery inflation eased for a fourth consecutive month, down 14.9 per cent in the four weeks to July 9 compared to 16.5 per cent in the previous month according to research company Kantar, in a welcome sign for shoppers squeezed by the cost of living crisis.