NFU urges consumers to back British

Buy British! Thats the message the NFU is shouting loud and clear to reassure consumers that British fresh produce is safe, nutritious and delicious following reports of an E.coli outbreak in northern Europe.

NFU horticulture and potatoes board chairman Sarah Pettitt said: British cucumbers are world class and currently in season so consumers should expect to find an abundant supply of this vibrant, fresh and versatile fruit in any supermarket at this time of year.

Consumers wanting to buy fruit and vegetables that have been produced by well-qualified, highly professional growers on well managed farms that have been independently inspected to achieve high standards of food safety, hygiene and environmental protection can look out for the Red Tractor logo on the food they buy. The Union Jack Flag within the logo also confirms that it has been grown here in the UK.

However, there are reports that British growers could be faced with poor market prices as cheap, unwanted cucumbers from within the EU flood the British market.

A combination of the Russian import ban on vegetables from the EU, trade restrictions between some European member states, cancelled retail orders and a drop in demand for cucumbers by up to 75 per cent in some countries has increased the amount of cucumbers available on the market, which is driving market prices down.

Miss Pettitt added: The NFU has spoken with all the major retailers as a matter of urgency to seek their assurances that they are backing British growers and paying a price that reflects the quality of the product and the world-beating standards to which it is produced.

So far, Im extremely encouraged to hear that the major supermarkets are behaving sensibly when it comes to price, and are not using this unfortunate situation as an excuse to drop prices to British growers. Cucumbers are a high cost crop to produce and rising input costs have meant reduced margins for growers in recent years. This means there is very little margin for growers to absorb financial losses. Well be keeping in close touch with our grower members and the retailers to monitor the situation.

It is in all our interests to ensure that there is an abundant supply of fantastic British produce on the shelves and, most importantly, that consumers have faith that they are buying a safe, nutritious product at a good value price.

• The EU27 exported 6bn worth of fresh fruit and veg to Russia in 2010. Of this, 3m came from the UK.
• The majority of cucumbers for sale at this time of year are grown in the UK.
• UK growers stop producing cucumbers during winter so supermarkets then buy from the two main European cucumber exporters – Spain and Holland – during those periods.