A new report published by international sustainability organisation Forum for the Future reveals insights into the challenges threatening the longevity of the UK’s orchards, and makes recommendations to help secure a thriving, climate-resilient future for top fruit supply chains.
The Future of UK Orchard Fruit report highlights five pressing, interconnected issues that are creating a very uncertain future for apple, plum and pear production. These are:
- Competing land use priorities — including new housing — which have driven the loss of more than half of all orchards in England and Wales
- A climate crisis that is causing more frequent and extreme weather events, as well as new pests and diseases, both in the UK and countries we source from
- An over-reliance on imports; the UK is only 40% self-sufficient for apples and 9% for pears and plums
- Difficulties for commercial growers in ‘making ends meet’ as rising production and labour costs, as well as investment in new technology, make thriving livelihoods hard to come by
- Consumer preference towards apples of a particular taste, size and colour, which drives lower grower profitability.
The report was released on ‘World Apple Day’, which since 1990 has encouraged celebration of the richness and diversity of apple-growing and three weeks ahead of world leaders gathering in Belém for COP30 to discuss collective action on the climate crisis.
Based on the input of orchardists, the report goes on to reimagine the future of UK orchards with a vision for what a thriving sector for British top fruit can and must look like; a future in which:
- The UK itself grows more of the top fruit it needs to feed UK citizens.
- Community orchards are more accessible and available to all.
- Orchards are protected and funded for their biodiversity and other environmental benefits.
- There are ample jobs and people with the skills needed to care for fruit trees and orchards of all sizes.
- UK cider, like French wine, is sought after globally for its unique taste and regionality.
The research ran from June 2024 to July 2025 and involved extensive desktop analysis and in-depth interviews with representatives from across the top fruit supply chain.
Ali Capper, Executive Chair of BAPL, who took part in the research said: “We welcome this new report and are a sector that is ambitious to grow market share from 40% to 60%. We know this is possible because in the last twenty years the amount of apples produced from a static land area of 5,500 hectares has more than doubled – this is an amazing productivity achievement! Growers need long term contracts and fair returns from the market and significant tax reliefs from government in order to make the investments needed in British orchards.”
The report calls on national and local government, the orchard industry, and civil society groups to take action. “Everyone has a role to play in creating a better future for the UK’s much-loved orchards”, Katherine Zscharnagk, Senior Change Designer at Forum for the Future, said. “Whether it’s supporting growers with long-term contracts, commercialising more of the fruit grown, making more land available, or trialling new models that make farming more feasible, urgent and systemic steps are needed now.”
