Four years after environmental horticulture became the first sector hit by the full impacts of Brexit checks, businesses are still grappling with soaring costs, significant delays, stock damage, and excessive bureaucracy. These challenges drive up costs and limit consumer choice, leaving the industry in an increasingly precarious position.
The UK’s environmental horticulture sector is a vital contributor to the economy and a linchpin of the green agenda. Plants, trees, and flowers produced domestically were valued at £1.7 billion in 2023, while imports of plants and plant material totalled £780 million, with 99% sourced from the EU. These figures underscore the sector’s importance to economic growth and its support of millions of UK gardeners, landscapers, and retailers. However, its reliance on international connections, particularly with the EU, exposes vulnerabilities to disruptions in trade and supply chains.
While the sector’s value is undeniable, increasing domestic production to substitute imports faces significant hurdles:
• Labour shortages: In 2023, growers reported a 4% vacancy rate, plus only being able to source 87% of the seasonal labour required. This reflects economic pressures, including rising wages, increased employer costs such as National Insurance contributions, and seasonal challenges caused by adverse weather (Source: HTA Wages & Labour Benchmarking Survey, 2023).
• Investment and land constraints: One-third of the UK growers who are not planning to increase production in the next five years cited access to sufficient labour as the reason, 40% cited a lack of confidence in investing, and 16% identified limited access to land as barriers to growth (Source: Horticulture Business Survey, 2022).
These challenges and the financial burdens of trade create a difficult operating environment for businesses across the sector.
Current policies, such as the Common User Charge (CUC), disproportionately increase costs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), making up approximately 95% of the environmental horticulture sector. Meanwhile, inadequate infrastructure at Border Control Posts (BCPs) leads to delays and stock waste. The lack of a mutual plant health agreement further disadvantages UK businesses compared to their EU competitors, exacerbating friction and limiting trade opportunities.
Jennifer Pheasey, Director of Public Affairs at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), said:
“The environmental horticulture sector, vital to the UK’s green economy, has suffered significantly from the effects of Brexit for too long. Four years after leaving the EU, the anticipated benefits have yet to materialise, while we continue to face challenges that threaten the stability of our businesses and trade.
“The past year has been marked by severe trade border issues, including significant delays, excessive red tape, and rising costs, all of which limit consumer choice. These difficulties are further compounded by unpredictable weather and the restrictions outlined in the government’s 2024 autumn budget. These obstacles are not only persisting; they are worsening. Now is the time for action. As we approach 2025, the sector needs support to overcome these challenges and unlock its full potential. We welcome the ambition to reset relations with the EU, but immediate action is necessary to foster growth, and repairing UK-EU relations is crucial for addressing these challenges.
