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Key opportunities
- £3.2 billion direct GDP contributions from the UK fresh produce industry in 2032, compared with £2.7 billion in 2020.
- Up to £126 billion of long-term economic benefits from a healthier, more sustainable UK food system of which increasing fruit, vegetable and fibre consumption is a core component.
- 131,000 potential direct permanent jobs in the industry in 20323 compared with 115,0002 in 2020.
- £21 – £105 million benefit in annual carbon savings if net zero is achieved in UK fruit and vegetable production.
Introduction
In the UK, we produce some of the best fresh produce in the world. Yet fruit and vegetables remain our largest trade gap in the food sector with an export value of £0.85 billion compared with an import value of £10.46 billion, giving a trade gap of £9.61 billion in 2021. Although imports will always be an important part of supply, due to our relatively short growing season and consumer desires for exotic produce, the stark imbalance in trade is an indication of our heavy reliance on other countries for the supply of fruit and vegetables. This vulnerability is recognised in the UK Food Security Report 2021. For example, since 1988, our home production supply of vegetables has dropped from 82.7% to 55.6% and for fruit it is just 16.3%. As diets shift and climate vulnerable countries increasingly struggle with food production, there is abundant scope for increasing production and resilience in the domestic fresh produce sector whilst helping the government respond to the targets set out in the National Food Strategy and deliver on its commitments to levelling up the United Kingdom and building back greener. This paper will outline the economic advantages of an expansion in horticulture, the barriers to that expansion (notably labour, margins & research and innovation), with recommendations on how to address these constraints.
