There
was a positive mood amongst growers attending the latest meeting of the HTA
Ornamentals Committee meeting held at the end of June following a buoyant
season.
All15
businesses that attended reported being ahead of budget with strong demand for
UK grown stock – across amenity and retail sectors.
Geoff
Caesar, HTA Ornamentals Committee Chair comments, “It was felt that given all
the challenges and uncertainty with regard to the economy that ornamental
production had faired very well. Strong sales have meant that businesses are in
a positive mood although there is widespread recognition that the sector has a
number of real issues to deal with in the times ahead.”
Shortage
of labour is proving to be a real issue across the country – both agency and
permanent staff. As a way of addressing this several businesses are looking to
take a more flexible approach by recruiting more permanent part-time workers.
Several
businesses spoke about how there are also opportunities for mechanisation
although capital investment is required for this and as a result this was still
a few years away and so wouldn’t provide any immediate solutions for labour
shortages.
Plant
health is a key concern especially with the new Plant Health legislation coming
into force in December 2019. HTA Horticulture Manager Alistair Yeomans
explained how he is engaging with APHA on plant passporting in order to get
clarification on arrangements. Alistair also provided an update on the current
status of the Plant Health Assurance scheme and the work that the Plant Health
Biosecurity Alliance is undertaking.
A number
of other issues were discussed including plastics in horticulture, growing
media, pressures on water resources and packaging recovery notes.
