New British Herbs Chairman, Charles Seddon of CN Seeds, highlighted the issues facing the industry when he was elected as Chairman this month at their recent conference. Following a full day of speakers who considered the changes facing the industry in their panel discussion, the members had presentations on commercial and technical topics specific to herbs.
Charles Seddon emphasised that although demand for fresh herbs continues to grow, there are significant challenges ahead for the industry. “Retail price pressure from the prevailing market conditions combined with increasing costs will squeeze profit margins even further, and therefore as an Association we will need to work together not only to promote the sector, but also to share information better. There is clearly a need to identify problems more quickly and also to put a value on the threats and opportunities facing growers in order to justify targeted research through the vehicle of AHDB.” He Said.