The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has issued a warning over the impact of trade, weather, and input prices on the British potato harvest. The NFU is urging immediate action to avert a shortage of potatoes. As pressure mounts for the survival of the domestic crop, potato producers are turning to politics in an attempt to safeguard the British spud harvest.

Farmers have stated that there have been major delays in lifting the 2023 crop and sowing the 2024 crop. The sector’s compound cost of production has increased by 28% in the last two years, while the costs of essential inputs like fertilizer and electricity for storing potatoes have remained unaffordable.

“British potatoes are usually available for people to buy all year round – a firm favorite on family dinner tables and the essential ingredient in the nation’s favorite – fish and chips,” according to NFU potato experts.

Due to the strain that high prices and harsh weather have placed on family companies over the past several years, there is a decreasing supply of this essential home item.

“The potato is versatile, nutritious, and affordable, making it not only a national favorite but a staple part of most people’s diets. Yet the future of British potatoes is at risk. Several growers have made the difficult choice to reduce production to minimize losses, and the relentless wet weather has put many more growers weeks behind schedule. For some, profits have been all but wiped out. Business confidence is low and investment has become a far-away concept, which is putting pressure on British potato supplies in the short term. While it’s unlikely to lead to empty shelves this year, this pressure on the homegrown crop is an indication that we need urgent action to prevent the situation from getting worse. I believe we can and should be self-sufficient in potatoes,” NFU Potato Policy Group vice chair, Alastair Heath, said.

More imports are also being employed so that the public isn’t left with empty shelves, and supply chains have been working with producers to be flexible with standards to use as much of the British harvest as possible to assist lessen the impact on customers.

The NFU is cautioning that, despite this important British harvest, the UK cannot depend only on imports as a fallback since doing so has hazards of its own. For instance, a severe lack of seed potatoes and similarly unfavorable planting and harvesting circumstances in 2023 have resulted in limited potato supplies throughout the European Union.

Before Brexit, seed potatoes were imported from Scotland, but securing ware potato supplies is getting harder and harder these days. The current scarcity of seed potatoes may be alleviated if the EU and GB resumed their reciprocal seed potato trade.

“War is raging in both Europe and the Middle East. Climate change is wreaking havoc on food production across the world. We can no longer assume that we will always have access to food imports to plug gaps in our market. Given the volatile global environment we find ourselves operating in, this is not an effective contingency plan for our food security. Our next government – whoever may lead it – must focus on building resilience, confidence, and profitability on farms at home, so products like the great British potato can continue to grace family dinner tables long into the future. As political parties vie for votes, I urge them to recognize this example of why policies to boost homegrown food production must be a priority […],” Alastair continued.

The typical UK citizen consumes around 33 kg of potatoes annually, thus the NFU is pleading with the next administration to implement workable measures to safeguard and increase British potato output.

These are the NFU’s requests for the country’s Government: – a plan for proactive management of our watercourses to reduce the risk of flooding and enable access to water in times of drought, with potatoes a thirsty crop; – with growers facing increasing resistance to pests and diseases, the next government should deliver a plan for the use and availability of plant protection products; – deliver an agricultural budget of GBP5.5bn for England and Wales that underpins business resilience. This should include schemes to support potato growers to drive productivity and adapt to climate change, particularly through funding for new and existing reservoirs and cold storage facilities, alongside enabling planning policies.

To guarantee that good potatoes aren’t wasted, the NFU would also prefer supermarkets to keep supporting their suppliers by allowing the supermarket standards for potatoes to remain loose.