NFU warns drop in UK-grown crops due to rising gas prices

There will be a huge drop in UK-grown crops such as peppers, cucumbers and aubergines, as it is increasingly becoming “too expensive” to produce them owing to increasing cost of gas, National Farmers’ Union has warned.

As per NFU president, crops that need glasshouses and require gas for heating, are expected to see a drop of up to 50 percent in the amount they can afford to grow because of the crippling increase in the cost.

“The impact is being felt most in the protected crop sectors, that’s aubergines, peppers, cucumbers,” Minette Batters, NFU president, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We are already seeing massive contraction, these costs are making it impossible to grow. The only thing is to keep these glasshouses empty.”

“We have really got to look at the gas requirements for the whole industry and where to look to intervene otherwise we are going to see less British production.”

“We have to intervene to make sure these businesses can stay operational and keep producing what the country wants,” she said.

Producers are saying the number of cucumbers that will be grown annually could fall from 80 million to 35 million, while pepper production could halve from 100 million, Batters said. She also added that inflation was leading to dramatic rises in other areas, citing the example of the cost of raising a chicken increasing by 50 percent in a year for farmers.

Batters also pointed out that wider issues, such as the record price of wheat and the potential reduction in exports from the big producers Russia and Ukraine because of the war, were also serving to fuel inflation and supply issues.

Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said it does not expect any significant impact on UK food supply.