UK vegetable price increases to continue, says report

The UK market for fresh fruit and vegetables was worth an estimated £9.52bn in 2010, representing a 4.3% increase on 2009 figures and a 29.5% increase on 2006, reveals a new report by Key Note Publications.

The UK, along with a number of other countries, has been severely affected by rising food-price inflation in recent years, which has pushed up the cost of fruit and vegetables significantly over the past 5 years, despite pressure on producers to keep prices as low as possible during the recent economic downturn.

Key Note predicts these price increases will continue over the next few years, thus causing market value to rise to approximately £11.93bn by 2015. These price increases are likely to be caused by a number of different factors, including general inflation increases; a rising population (both worldwide and domestic), which will put added pressure on food supplies; ongoing climate change, which is likely to affect growing patterns; and what is generally considered an unpredictable exchange rate for sterling on the global market. Areas of the market that were significantly affected by the recession, such as premium and organic lines, are also likely to see a return to popularity, which will serve to push up the value of the fruit and vegetables market even further, due to the higher price that these particular products generally retail at.

Go to http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=1846445&t=d&cat_id= for the full Fruit & Vegetables Market Report 2011.