Exports increase as growing turns corner

HORTICULTURE exports have gone up by 20% over the last two years. The revival in the sector is set to continue and the value of flowers, plugs, bulbs and tomatoes being exported this year could reach £50m. Committee for Horticulture vice-president Bill Robilliard is not alone in feeling good about the sector. 'There is optimism, well-founded optimism, with a number of people looking to rent or buy holdings,' he said. 'There are two big players in the offing, one of which has advised it envisages a £10m. turnover in the second year of its venture.' Douzenier Robilliard said that the industry had changed enormously over the last 10 years in a way that previous generations could not have imagined. 'It is not what has been our traditional horticultural industry, but it is the present and the future,' he said. 'It has not stood still; it has opened up new avenues and new markets. It has modernised, it has invested and its faith in its own potential is being rewarded for the benefit of the island.' Final figures released by the committee show an increase in the value of exports last year of 8% to just over £47m., a 20% increase on 2000's figure of £39m. There has been a 13% drop in the number of businesses to 162, a reduction in the area under glass to 179 hectares (442 acres) and a reduction in the value of the cut-flower sector. But this has been offset by an increase in the value of the plant production and postal flowers sectors. Guernsey Growers' Association president David Miller said the statistics were very encouraging. 'Over the last 200 years the industry has had it ups and downs and some products have come and gone through a series of declines, but there is every indication that we are beginning to climb the mountain again,' he said. Economic and strategic adviser to the Board of Industry, John Ogier, agreed that there was some cause for optimism and that there would continue to be transition and change in the industry. 'These [figures] indicate that while significant sectors of the industry are less profitable, there are areas of improving profitability and turnover involving specialist sectors such as young plant sales,' he said. The smaller local grower in particular has faced major problems over the years, with mass producers in Europe and further afield competing in the UK. The tomato industry was hit by supermarkets, which dictated the market leading to the closure of many smallholdings, said Douzenier Robilliard. Flowers growers have also seen their peak years disappear, but those who have survived have turned to the Internet for marketing, which has led to a successful postal flowers market. 'What is clear is that the future lies with growers working large areas,' said Douzenier Robilliard. 'It is encouraging that this is recognised in the recently published IDC Rural Area Plan.'