More soft fruit imports good for British season

British consumers are triggered to by soft fruit by year-round advertising campaigns. British Summer Fruits represents 98% of the British soft fruit sector as well as a significant portion of the imports in this category. "Our goal is to conduct a year-round soft fruit sales campaign," says Nick Marston. "Growth in the import season means that the British season will also kick off with higher sales." To put soft fruit in the spotlight, the organisation spends millions of British pounds on social media campaigns and to attract news media attention. In addition, the company also lobbies politicians to promote the growers' interests.

Click here to see the photo report.

The use of polytunnels in soft fruit cultivation is one of the subjects that have been placed on the political agenda in recent years. "Brexit is now becoming a reality for which we do not yet have a solution", says Nick. The organisation is trying to influence politicians regarding this. They are doing so by means of reports and studies done about the consequences of Britain's exit from the EU. "We have achieved a great deal", says Nick. One report, which listed the Brexit's consequences, attracted significant media attention. "In total, national TV stations spent 1.5 hours on this subject."

For growers, the first consequences of Brexit have already become evident. "For producers, the greatest impact is on the availability of labourers", says John Gray of Angus Soft Fruits. According to reports in the British media, the number of internet searches for jobs in the United Kingdom has dropped by more than a third. "We have to take a close look at what we can offer seasonal workers. We also need to work more efficiently", he said. This can be done by, for example, lengthening the season. The same group of workers will be employed for longer, and the same volume will be harvested.

In order to deal with these shortages, Nick urges that work permits need to be made available for people outside the EU. "In Spain, you see pickers from Morocco; in Poland from other Eastern European countries. We must ensure that we create a programme for workers from outside the EU."

"Many of our accounts are also paid in euros", says John. This means this will be influenced by the exchange rate. Among other things, 95% of the plant material is imported from the European continent. An additional challenge is the customs and clearance system that needs to be set up. Given the perishable nature of the plant material and the products, these procedures must not take too long. This also counts for phytosanitary protocols. Where the United Kingdom currently uses the European system, post-Brexit, the country has to set up its own protocols. "This is a concern for the entire sector", says Nick. "We need a simple customs clearance system." He does, however, see that supermarkets and those within the soft fruit sector are making work of this. "No-one is just sitting and waiting for the soft fruit season to start in May because there are no imports. This is also the case with other foodstuffs."

Bringing the season forward by focusing on greenhouse cultivation is not yet the order of the day in the United Kingdom. This practice is common in the Netherlands and Belgium. "The United Kingdom is lagging behind in this regard. This is due to the problems with area planning. It is, however, beginning to take off", Nick points out. "Lit cultivation is the future. I expect this to make a breakthrough before automation does." John, who is a grower himself, has invested in tunnel cultivation and heating in order to bring harvesting forward. "British people want British products but not at any price. Quality must also be assured."