650% compared to 2019. farmers have responded by cutting production. there is 16% less fruit grown, for example, in the uk compared to 2019. it is a crisis that threatens the security of the uk s food supply, according to the national farmers union. ultimately, you have got the farmer or the grower taking all of the risk with these huge costs. so it is about fairness in the whole chain, but it is about government prioritising food security. and if they fail to do so, i fear we will continue to see greater contraction, exporting our production and reliant on more imports. on one side you have the soaring cost of production fuel, fertiliser, feed and labour. and on the other side, you have a cost of living crisis with retailers reluctant to pass on higher costs to their consumers. and in the middle, farmers are getting squeezed to such an extent, some are cutting production or giving up altogether. retailers say they are aware of the pressure farmers are under, but so is everyone else
i have never seen anything like this before and neither have so many of my fellow growers. it is, it is really, really scary now. since 2019, before the pandemic and the ukraine war, farmers costs have rocketed. fertiliser is up 240%. diesel prices, up 73%. wholesale gas, a whopping 650% compared to 2019. farmers have responded by cutting production. there is 16% less fruit grown, for example, in the uk compared to 2019. it is a crisis that threatens the security of the uk s food supply, according to the national farmers union. ultimately, you have got the farmer or the grower taking all of the risk with these huge costs. so it is about fairness in the whole chain, but it is about government prioritising food security. and if they fail to do so, i fear we will continue to see greater contraction, exporting our production and reliant on more imports. on one side you have the soaring cost of production fuel, fertiliser, feed and labour.