UK: British fruit growers on knife-edge due to unsustainable low returns

British fruit growers are on a 'knife-edge' due to double digit cost of production increases, low returns and low confidence, the sector has warned. British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) has published a new set of data that highlights the continued struggles for the UK's top fruit growers. Over the last two years, apple growers have faced 30% increases in costs of production and received just 8% increases in returns from supermarkets. BAPL said the situation was 'unsustainable', adding that there was 'such desperation' among the body's members. Executive chair of BAPL, Ali Capper, said: "When you think about what a good news story our industry should be, it’s heart-breaking. “The volatility in costs has become the biggest challenge faced by growers, many of them out of their control from labour and energy to the ever-increasing cost of the audit burden. "We should not be talking about the slow decline of British apple orchards, and generations of family farm businesses at risk of ...