Major vegetable supplier set to leave the sector

THE Jersey business which is a major supplier of vegetables to Guernsey will be closing its doors this summer after 130 years.

Charlie Gallichan, managing director of Woodside Farms, the Jersey business which supplies much of Guernsey’s vegetables, has decided to get out of the industry this year. (Picture by Rob Currie, 30577140)

Woodside Farms is owned by Charlie Gallichan.

He said that inflationary costs within the growing industry were part of the reason he has decided to stop farming produce and potentially switch to growing something else.

‘I think the retailers will be able to tap into the UK supply chain and there may be some niche growers in Guernsey as well,’ he said.

Onions and leeks are among the produce currently supplied to the island by the firm and which are expected to stop appearing in the main food shops, including the Co-op, in June.

‘We’re too big to be small and too small to be big, if you know what I mean – we can’t get any bigger, but we’re too big to specialise,’ said Mr Gallichan.

‘Nationally being a grower is very difficult at the moment. It’s easy to just put a price on potatoes or carrots but you have to pay to look after the countryside and everything too.’

He said that Guernsey’s government may have to take a closer look at agriculture to ensure there are still people willing to grow on-island.

‘I’m not sure anything can change overnight – the government in Guernsey will have to make a decision if the growing industry is to survive there, they may have to look at agricultural policy.’

Although it has not been determined what the Jersey farm will be used for, Mr Gallichan was

considering medicinal cannabis as an option.

‘It’s all still very fresh,’ he said.

It is not certain how much of the island’s produce comes from Woodside Farms.