Senior figures from across the fruit and vegetable sector used the NFU Fruit Forum stage at Fruit Focus 2026 to make the case for a horticulture growth plan that addresses long-standing structural barriers to profitability and investment.
The discussion formed part of work being undertaken by Defra’s Horticulture Expert Grower Group, which has been tasked with helping to identify obstacles to growth across the sector.
While participants welcomed the opportunity to influence future policy, they repeatedly stressed that growers need confidence and long-term certainty before they will commit capital to expansion.
Christine McDowell, senior policy specialist at the NFU, said the industry’s focus should be on competitiveness rather than simply increasing output.
“In terms of growth, we don’t necessarily mean growth being volume driven,” she said. “From our perspective, it should be about ensuring competitiveness, with growth being a by-product of competitive businesses.”
‘Our sector is uncompetitive’
One of the strongest interventions came from Ali Capper, chair of British Apples & Pears, who argued that UK growers are being placed at a disadvantage by a series of policy decisions that make it harder to compete with European rivals.
“The reality is that our sector in the UK is uncompetitive primarily because of a list of Government policies, and that has to be fixed,” she said.
Capper highlighted uncertainty over seasonal worker allocations, higher labour costs and the removal of producer organisation support in England and Wales as examples of competitive disadvantages facing British growers.
“We’ve talked about access to labour and not knowing what visa numbers are for next year. But we’ve also got the most expensive labour in Europe. England and Wales no longer have a producer organisation scheme, and yet the rest of Europe, Scotland and Northern Ireland do. That is a competitive disadvantage.”
She added: “This is a really exciting, entrepreneurial sector, but we can’t do it when we get our hands tied behind our back by various Government policies that make us uncompetitive.”
Labour uncertainty continues to deter investment
Seasonal labour emerged as one of the most pressing concerns. Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said overseas workers remain fundamental to UK horticulture despite increasing interest in automation and robotics.
“Seasonal workers are essential to our industry. Overseas workers form 98 or 99% of the harvest labour workforce in UK horticulture, certainly in the berry industry.”
Marston warned that technology will not eliminate labour requirements any time soon despite rapid progress in automation.
“Growers and the industry are working really hard on this, but that’s a long-term project and quite honestly it won’t replace people entirely. It might replace half of them, if we’re lucky, in maybe 10 or 15 or 20 years’ time.”
The lack of clarity around future Seasonal Worker visa allocations is making long-term business planning increasingly difficult, he said.
“Growers are making significant capital investments, sometimes tens of millions of pounds in a new farm or a new big block of production.
“The write-off period for that is going to be 10 to 20 years, but the grower doesn’t actually know whether he’s got the workforce to utilise the asset next year.”
Marston called for a rolling five-year Seasonal Worker scheme to remove uncertainty.
“What we’re asking for is clarity on the scheme itself. We’d like a five-year rolling scheme, so no more cliff edges.”
Calls to replace lost producer organisation support
The withdrawal of the fruit and vegetable aid scheme also came under scrutiny.
John Walgate, chief executive of the British Growers Association, argued that the previous producer organisation model had delivered important support for collaboration, investment and competitiveness.
“The fruit and vegetable aid scheme was not perfect, I think everybody would say it was not perfect, but it was great support. It worked really well, and we can’t see the logic in losing it. Reform would have been the right thing, not to lose it.”
He warned that seemingly modest changes in margins can have major consequences for growers.
“Four percent might sound like a small figure, but it’s huge. Two percent can be the difference between survival and failure.”
Glasshouse investment under pressure
Energy costs remain a major challenge for the protected cropping sector.
Simon Conway, chair of both the British Tomato Growers Association and British Pepper & Cucumber Growers Association, said the economics of modern glasshouse investment are becoming increasingly difficult.
“A glasshouse nowadays is between £2.5 million and £5 million a hectare to build. If you’re building glass at that cost, you need a long-term view.”
According to Conway, energy charges are now discouraging large-scale investment.
“I’ve had two business owners say to me, the UK is un-investable for large-scale glasshouse unless you run as an island and build gas turbines and don’t connect to the grid.”
Yet he also highlighted the significant opportunity available if barriers can be addressed.
“We are about 20% self-sufficient in tomatoes and cucumbers. We’ve got massive growth opportunity. UK retailers want to buy British tomatoes and cucumbers.”
Demand for clarity on crop protection
The sector is also seeking greater certainty around future regulation of plant protection products and maximum residue levels.
Conway said growers urgently need visibility on the UK’s future relationship with EU rules.
“What we know is that the end game for crop protection specifically is alignment with the EU on actives and MRLs.
“What we don’t know is timings, transitions and agreements. We need visibility so the whole supply chain can plan, from chemical manufacturers to distributors and growers. At the moment, we are completely blind to that.”
Growth plan must be a partnership
Panel members stressed that responsibility for growth cannot rest solely with government.
McDowell said the emerging strategy is being designed around shared responsibilities between policymakers, growers and the wider supply chain.
“The growth strategy is very much being pitched by the partnership board to be co-designed.
“So it’s not all about what Government can do. It should also include what the supply chain should do to help us grow, and what growers can do to help themselves to grow.”
‘Muddy-boots’ innovation needed
Research and innovation were also identified as critical enablers of future growth.
Capper called for a return to grower-led research focused on solving practical on-farm challenges rather than fragmented projects.
“There were some good models in the past where growers would lead with what the problems and issues were, and then through a good governance model that involved both Government funding and our academic community, ensure that we are landing the right, primarily applied research – practical, sleeves-rolled-up, muddy-boots research – onto our farms.”
She argued that the sector must improve collaboration around challenges such as climate adaptation, artificial intelligence, automation and robotics.
“We’ve got too many people all trying to solve the same problem behind walls. I want to put them all in a room and bring all those brilliant brains together to solve problems together for our sector.”
