The British Berry Growers' (BBG) call to action, laid out in an announcement on 23 July, comes at a time when companies operating in the sector are being hit by rising costs.
In a sign of how tough market conditions are, nearly half of respondents to a BBG survey conducted in June say they are no longer making a profit, with 37% now contemplating lowering their production levels or leaving the berry growing industry – worth £1.87bn to the UK – altogether.
International trade is a key part of BBG's strategy for the months and years ahead. The organisation, which represents 95% of commercial soft fruit growers in the UK, says its ambition is for "industry exports to be 50% bigger than British sales volumes by 2035."
Making it easier for firms to export is a key concern for BBG chairman, Nick Marston. His organisation, he says, is "calling for an agile and more responsive approval process for berry exports from the UK that would allow British growers to take advantage of market opportunities in the EU and further afield."
In July 2023, BBG laid bare the difficulties facing growers keen to export when it submitted written evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on post-Brexit trade deals.
Examples of how challenging the trading environment can be included a £40,000 shipment of fresh strawberries destined for the Netherlands that was held up in France for more than two days and "ruined."
Issues with paperwork were highlighted as being a contributing factor, with BBG noting that the haulier was "unaware of the difference in requirements between strawberries and raspberries."
Calls for backing
More broadly, Marston says his sector – which produces blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries – needs "support from retailers in the form of fair returns, but we also need support from the government to ensure we have an uninterrupted supply of pickers during our peak season."
On the latter issue, the BBG chairman is making the case for the seasonal worker visa scheme, which currently enables horticulture workers to stay in the UK for six months, to be increased to nine months.
Such an extension, he argues, "would ensure we get the people we need to pick our fruit throughout our extended growing season."
For Marston, the stakes are high. Referencing the BBG's survey, he describes the feedback from UK berry growers as "a warning – a warning we need to take seriously if we are to secure the future of our iconic berries."