UK Fruit Focus 2026 Panel: Government Policy Must Change to Unlock Growth

Industry leaders are calling for urgent action from government, retailers and growers to unlock the growth potential of U.K. horticulture, following a discussion at Fruit Focus 2026, July 8.

The discussion on the National Farmers Union (NFU) Fruit Forum stage was a key session during the event’s 40th anniversary program, bringing together senior figures from across the sector to discuss the development of the first horticulture growth plan.

The Horticulture Expert Grower Group has been tasked by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to help develop the plan, working with the U.K. Fruit and Vegetable Coalition and the Environmental Horticulture Group to identify barriers to growth and profitability, examine how costs and returns are shared across the supply chain, and explore ways to increase productivity and grow domestic and export markets.

Speaking during the panel discussion, industry leaders said the sector has a major opportunity to shape future policy, but warned growth will only be possible if growers are given the confidence to invest.
Christine McDowell, NFU senior policy specialist, said the growth plan must focus on competitiveness rather than simply increasing production.

“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 byproduct of competitive businesses.”

The panel highlighted labor availability, planning, energy costs, water infrastructure, crop protection, retailer relationships, rising input costs and investment in automation as some of the most pressing issues.

“The reality is that our sector in the U.K. is uncompetitive primarily because of a list of government policies, and that has to be fixed,” stressed Ali Capper, chair of British Apples and Pears.

“We’ve talked about access to labor and not knowing what visa numbers are for next year. But we’ve also got the most expensive labor in Europe. England and Wales no longer have a producer organization scheme, and yet the rest of Europe, Scotland and Northern Ireland do. That is a competitive disadvantage.”

“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.”

LABOR

Labor remained one of the strongest themes in the discussion, with the panel warning that uncertainty around the Seasonal Worker visa scheme is undermining investment confidence.

Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said seasonal workers remain essential to horticulture. “Overseas workers form 98 or 99% of the harvest labor workforce in U.K. horticulture, certainly in the berry industry.”

He said growers are working hard to explore automation, robotics, new varieties and different harvesting systems, but warned these will not replace people quickly. “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.”

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE AID SCHEME

The panel also called for renewed support to replace the loss of the fruit and vegetable aid scheme.
“The words that we hear all the time are ‘level playing field.’ All the time,” said John Walgate, chief executive of the British Growers Association, adding the previous scheme had provided important support for investment, collaboration 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.”

Walgate warned that relatively small changes in support or cost can have a major impact on business viability. “Four percent might sound like a small figure, but it’s huge. Two percent can be the difference between survival and failure,” he said.

ENERGY COSTS

Energy costs were also raised as a major barrier. Simon Conway, chair of the British Tomato Growers Association and British Pepper & Cucumber Growers Association, said the scale of investment required in modern glasshouse production means businesses need long-term confidence.

“I’ve had two business owners say to me, the U.K. is uninvestable for large-scale glasshouse unless you run as an island and build gas turbines and don’t connect to the grid.”

However, Conway also pointed to significant growth opportunities if the right conditions are created. “We are about 20% self-sufficient in tomatoes and cucumbers. We’ve got a massive growth opportunity. U.K. retailers want to buy British tomatoes and cucumbers.”

“We‘ve got a massive growth opportunity. U.K. retailers want to buy British tomatoes and cucumbers.”

— Simon Conway, British Tomato Growers Association and British Pepper & Cucumber Growers Association

The need for better coordination on research and innovation was another major theme, with speakers calling for grower-led research that focuses on practical solutions to commercial challenges.

Fruit Focus provides a one-stop shop where visitors can meet leading fruit-focused product and service providers, network with industry colleagues, earn BASIS and NRoSO points, and learn from seminars and technical content.