Growers' association calls it a day after 120 years
AFTER 120 years representing island producers, the Guernsey Growers Association is winding up at the end of this year.
President Alan Dorey said it had been a sad, tough decision, but the group had no choice.
'Basically we have been living off our reserves for a number of years and we don't have the funds to carry on any longer,' he said.
'Also the industry is quite small and there are not that many growers. It is sad, but it is just the way it is.'
He estimated there were only about 50 growers in the island, employing around a hundred staff. That compares with more than 5,000 people working under a 1,000 acres of glass at the height of the industry in the 1970s.
The group is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year.
'It was set up in 1894 to help growers market their produce,' Mr Dorey said.
'At the time, the main things grown were dessert grapes and tomatoes.'
However, the rise of oil prices for heating greenhouses in the 1970s led to a slow collapse and the recent loss of the LVCR tax relief has made growing even harder for the flower and plants businesses.
