National statistics

Horticulture statistics - 2022

Updated 30 October 2023

These statistics cover area, production, trade and valuation of horticulture crops in the United Kingdom from 1985 to 2022. The published data is available in the accompanying dataset; including estimated data for individual fruit and vegetable varieties and aggregated ornamental production.

Key Messages

• The value of home-produced vegetables increased by 4.8% to just under £1.8 billion in 2022, and the volume of home production decreased by 5.8% to 2.4 million tonnes. There was an increase of 7.5% in the value of field vegetables, at £1.4 billion (£98 million increase) whilst the value of protected vegetables decreased by 4.4% to £371 million (£17 million decrease).
• Home produced fruit has risen in value to just over £1 billion, an increase of 9.5% compared to 2021, with production volumes increasing 13% to 652 thousand tonnes.
• UK ornamentals were worth £1.5 billion in 2022, a decrease of 1.5% compared to 2021.

Figure 1 - Value of fresh fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals, 2021 and 2022 (£ million)

Value	2021	2022
Vegetables	1685	1766
Fruit	922	1010
Ornamentals	1562	1538

Key words

• Home produced - This relates to fruit, vegetables and ornamentals grown within the UK
• Field vegetables -This refers to vegetables grown in the open; including roots, onions, brassicas and legumes
• Protected vegetables - This refers to vegetables grown in a protected environment, glasshouse or polythene tunnel; including tomatoes and lettuce.
• Total Supply - This refers to overall availability of a crop; home produced + imports – exports = total supply.

Section 1 – Vegetables

1.1 Vegetable Production, supply and value.

Figure 1.1a Home produced vegetables as a percentage of total supply

Figure 1.1b Total Supply of Vegetables (thousand tonnes)

• Home production decreased by 5.8% to 2.4 million tonnes and the value increased by 4.8% to £1.8 billion.
• Total supply decreased by 2.4% to 4.3 million tonnes. Imports of vegetables increased by 3.3% to just over 2 million tonnes and exports increased of 39% to 96 thousand tonnes.
• Home production of vegetables contributed to around 55% of the total UK supply in 2022, compared to 57% in 2021.

Areas for vegetables reduced by 5.0% at 107 thousand hectares. January was particularly dry with optimal conditions for carrot, parsnip and onion drilling and planting. February was increasingly unsettled, with storms hitting some parts of the country, causing damage. The spring and summer were generally warmer than average and many areas experienced drought especially in the South and East with a new UK record temperature of 40.3°C recorded in July. The hot, dry summer presented challenges for growers, needing to irrigate crops far more than usual. The increasing costs of all inputs such as energy, diesel, fertiliser and plant protection products have squeezed grower profitability significantly.

Planted area of brassicas decreased by 7.1% at 24 thousand hectares. A dry spring and hot, dry summer reduced brassica yields across the board. Pests such as cabbage root fly and storage aphids contributed to the issues faced by growers in 2022. In some cases, supermarkets changed usual buying specifications to enable the marketing of the smaller heads to meet consumer demand.

Broccoli yields fell by 4.8% at 9.1 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) with market prices increasing by 57% at £2.33 per kilogramme (/Kg), the overall value of the crop rose to £112 million, a 35% increase on 2021 values. Production fell by 15% at 67 thousand tonnes and the area planted reduced by 10% to 7,376 hectares.

Cauliflower yields fell by 6.9% at 8.8 t/ha, market prices increasing by 3.1% at £0.84/head, the overall value of the crop fell by 9% to £58 million. Year on year the area planted fell by 5.3% to 9,275 hectares with overall production reducing by 12% to 82 thousand tonnes.

The hot weather and need for irrigation reduced bulb onion yields significantly in 2022, reducing by 15% to 34t/ha. With some growers having to make the decision of which crops to irrigate, some onion fields were left unirrigated with priority given to other crops. A reduction in the area planted of 5% to 8,818 thousand hectares was seen in 2022, and it is anticipated this trend will continue into 2023. Overall production decreased by 20% to 303 thousand tonnes with the value decreasing by 11% to £137 million and the average market price increasing by 10% to £0.52/kg.

A large part of the UK carrot crop can and were irrigated in 2022. With high energy prices, costs associated irrigation were high for growers. With the addition of irrigation yelds increased by 4.7% to 74 t/ha. Carrot areas decreased by 4.3% to just under 11 thousand hectares and overall production increased slightly by 0.1% to 798 thousand tonnes. Value decreased by 3.6% to £178 million with the average market price static at £0.49/kg.

1.2 Field vegetables

Figure 1.2a Value of field vegetables (£ million)

Figure 1.2b Production of field vegetables (thousand tonnes)

• Field Field vegetables increased in value by 7.5% £1.4 billion in 2022.
• Production at 2.2 million tonnes was a decrease of 5.8% on 2021. The area used for field vegetables decreased by 4.9% to 107 thousand hectares.
• See tables 11 to 13 in the dataset for individual crop details of area, production and value for field vegetables.

Table 1.2 Field vegetable total value and production

Calendar Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022 (prov)	% Diff
Value (£ million)	1,106	1,178	1,312	1,297	1,395	7.5%
Production (million tonnes)	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	-5.8%

1.3 Protected vegetables

Figure 1.3a Value of protected vegetables (£ million)

Figure 1.3b Production of protected vegetables (thousand tonnes)

• The value of protected vegetables decreased by 4.4% in 2022 to £371 million.
• Production of protected vegetables fell by 5.7% in 2022 to 247 thousand tonnes, with the area used decreasing by 14%, at 684 hectares. This is the seventh year in a row where protected vegetable production has fallen since peak production in 2015 at 310 thousand tonnes.
• See tables 14 and 15 in the dataset for individual crop details of area, production and value for protected vegetables.

Table 1.3 Protected vegetable total value and production

Calendar Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022 (prov)	% Diff
Value (£ million)	333	350	364	388	371	-4.4%
Production (thousand tonnes)	274.4	270.4	269.7	261.9	247.0	-5.7%

Section 2 – Fruit

2.1 Fruit Production, supply and value

Figure 2.1a Home produced fruit as a percentage of total supply

Figure 2.1b Total supply of fruit (thousand tonnes)

• Dry weather at the start of the year gave growers the ability to raise polytunnels for soft fruit early and soil conditions were good for planting strawberries, raspberries and orchards. Though some damage to tunnels occurred with the Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin storms in February. Unusual hot days in March and April brought the season forward for both top and soft fruit crops but it left them vulnerable to the late frosts in April which caused some damage. Harvesting of all fruit crops started early due to the continuing effects of the mild spring and the summer heatwave.
• Home production contributed 17% of the total UK supply of fruit in 2022, up from the 2021 figure of 15% (see table 2 and 10 in the dataset).
• Fruit production rose by 13% to 652 thousand tonnes (577 thousand tonnes in 2021). The area total for fruit grown in the open reduced by 3.3% to 22 thousand hectares (see table 4 in the dataset).

Table 2.1 Fruit total value and production

Calendar Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022 (prov)	% Diff
Value (£ million)	800	903	1,045	922	1,010	10%
Production (thousand tonnes)	731	688	657	577	652	13%

Figure 2.1c Value of fruit (£ million)

Figure 2.1d Production of fruit (thousand tonnes)

• The vvalue of fruit in 2022 was just over £1 billion up 9.5% when compared to 2021 (£922 million). The value of fruit grown in the open rose by 9.6% at £951 million, and Glasshouse fruit increased by 8.6% to £59 million.
• The value of the strawberry crops increased by 7% to £377 million. Picking started a week or so earlier than 2021 in early May because of the mild winter and spring. An increased area of Everbearer crops produce good yields but there was oversupply in July when the heatwave accelerated fruit ripening. Yields increased by 9.6% to 25 t/ha, the cropped area decreased by 5.2% at 4,681 thousand hectares due to grubbing.
• The value of orchard fruit increased by 31% to £377m and soft fruit decreasing by 1.1% to £574m. The value of dessert apples increased by £28m to £183m in 2022, a 18% increase on 2021. The value of culinary apples more than doubled in 2022 to £94 million, with market prices increasing by 40% to £1.77/kg and yields increasing by 38% to 49 t/ha.
• The area planted for Cox apples continues to diminish at 715 thousand hectares, 14% lower than 2021 (835 thousand hectares) and 64% lower than the area planted in 2010 (1,993 thousand hectares). Cox orchards continue to be grubbed as consumer demand decreases, which along with the lower potential yield when compared to the newer varieties (e.g. Gala, Braeburn) means the area is expected to continue to decline in future years.
• Total supply of fruit rose by 0.6% to 3.9 million tonnes in 2022, home production rising by 13% at 652 thousand tonnes and imports fell by 1.5% at 3.3 million tonnes.
• See tables 4 to 6 in the dataset for individual crop details of area, production and value for fruit.

Section 3 - Trade in fruit and vegetables

Table 3 Fruit and vegetable trade values and volumes

Calendar Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022 (prov)	% Diff
Imports value (£ million)
Veg Imports	2,468	2,576	2,552	2,370	2,737	15%
Fruit Imports	3,786	3,900	3,950	3,733	3,903	4.5%
Exports value (£ million)
Veg Exports	130	129	112	73	85	17%
Fruit Exports	156	156	185	63	64	2.3%
Imports volume (‘000 tonnes)
Veg Imports	2,268	2,356	2,213	1,978	2,044	3.3%
Fruit Imports	3,661	3,657	3,564	3,327	3,277	-1.5%
Exports volume (‘000 tonnes)
Veg Exports	145	143	108	69	96	39%
Fruit Exports	156	162	178	37	38	1.7%

Source: HMRC

Figure 3a Imports of fruit and vegetables (£ million)

Year	Veg Imports	Fruit Imports
2018	2,468	3,786
2019	2,576	3,900
2020	2,552	3,950
2021	2,370	3,733
2022	2,737	3,903

Figure 3b Exports of fruit and vegetables (£ million)

Year	Veg Exports	Fruit Exports
2018	130	156
2019	129	156
2020	112	185
2021	73	63
2022	85	64

• Vegetable exports (including re-exports) were worth £85 million in 2022, 17% higher than 2021 whilst volumes increased by 39% to 96 million tonnes.

• Vegetables imports cost £2.7 billion in 2022, a 15% increase on 2021 with volumes increasing by 3.3% at 2 million tonnes.

• Fruit exports (including re-exports) were worth £64 million in 2022, a 2.3% increase. Volumes of exports rose by 1.7% to 38 thousand tonnes.

• Fruit imports cost £3.9 billion in 2022, a 4.5% increase on 2021 with volumes decreasing by 1.5% at 3.3 million tonnes.

3.1 Imports to the UK by country of fruit and vegetables

3.1a Vegetable imports by country as percentage of total value

Country	%
Spain	7.7%
Netherlands	6.8%
France	5.8%
Morocco	5.2%
Kenya	5.1%

3.1b Fruit imports by country as percentage of total value

Country	%
Spain	25%
South Africa	15%
Peru	11%
France	7.9%
Netherlands	7.8%

Figure 3.1c Vegetable exports by country as a percentage of total value

Country	%
Irish Republic	20.5%
France	10%
Netherlands	6%
Egypt	5%
UAE	5%

Figure 3.1d Fruit exports by country as a percentage of total value

Country	%
Irish Republic	11%
Netherlands	11%
Hong Kong	9.2%
Germany	5.4%
UAE	5.0%

Section 4 – Ornamentals

• Ornamental plants and flowers were worth £1.5 billion in 2022, an decrease of 1.5% compared to 2021.
• Hardy ornamental stock decreased in value by 1.8% to £1.1 billion. 2022 was a challenging year for the hardy nursery stock (HNS) sector, due largely to the prolonged severe drought and heatwave. The increased cost-of-living impacted discretionary spend and so demand, particularly in garden retail sector.
• The pot plant sector decreased by 12% to £285 million. The protected ornamentals sector saw adjustments where some growers reduced production because of the rise in the cost of living and the increasing cost of materials (pots, growing media etc) which would increase retail prices.
• Flowers and bulbs showed a 29% increase in value to £165 million. Water shortages with the reducing consumer demand because of the drought conditions and increased cost-of-living further exacerbated matters, particularly in the latter part of the year.

Table 4 Value of ornamentals (£ million)

Calendar Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	% Diff
Flowers and Bulbs	123	126	127	129	165	29%
Pot Plants	307	317	283	325	285	-12%
Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stock	943	975	984	1,108	1,088	-1.8%
UK Total:	1,373	1,418	1,394	1,562	1,538	-1.5%

• The value of ornamental imports cost £1.5 billion, a 22% increase on 2021.
• Exports of ornamentals were worth £49 million in 2022, an 12% decrease on 2021 (see tables 23 and 24 in the dataset for more details on imports and exports of ornamentals).

Section 5 – About these statistics

Methodology

Data presented in Horticulture Statistics publication are at United Kingdom level only.

For England and Wales, an external provider collects data on area, yield and production for Defra under contract. The members of the Fruit Crop Intelligence Committees were contacted individually for their information. The ADAS Fruit Key Convenor made direct contact with individual growers, Producer Organisations, ADAS colleagues, independent consultants, propagators and cider makers to gather confidential information on top fruit planting, grubbing and yields. This combination of the confidential information and the output of the Crop Intelligence Committee members has given a high level of assurance for the data collection methodology and summary data. For the field vegetables sector, the contractor continued to maintain our increased network of industry contacts and gained further additional key contacts, particularly in the South-West. These contacts cover key individual producers, packers and consultants, in all key vegetable sectors. For the ornamentals sector the contractor contacted a broad grower base that covers all sectors and targets larger companies, whilst ensuring that growers delivering across all market sectors (landscape, garden centres, DIY stores and retailers) were represented within the data.

For Scotland, the crop area data for fruit, vegetables and ornamentals come from the annual June Census. The latest edition of the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture (ERSA), compiled by the Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services division (RESAS) in the Scottish Government (SG), includes information on the output and value of horticulture. Estimated prices use the previous year’s survey data adjusted by latest price data taken from the Glasgow Market price data. Yields and price data for strawberries and blackcurrants are derived from a postal survey of horticultural units. Yield data for other vegetables and orchard fruit uses data collected by Defra for crops grown in England and Wales.

For Northern Ireland, the Agricultural Census, which is an annual sample survey of farmers conducted in June, collects crop area data. Key industry contacts provide representative yield and farm-gate price data. These are compared across sources and against general trends and taking into account wider agronomic and market knowledge of each of the different sectors to ensure the data are credible and representative. Price data take into account the end use of the produce and any price differentials in order to derive a representative weighted annual average price. The volume of output takes into account marketings in each particular year so for crops such as apples where the crop is marketed over two years, it will take into account marketings from two seasons for each particular calendar year. Emphasis is placed on data for the main high value items with mushrooms being the main contributor and driver for horticulture. In this case data are obtained directly from industry and represent 75 per cent of total mushroom production.

Trade data are sourced by Defra through HM Revenue and Customs import and export records. Detailed commodity codes are used to identify specific categories.

Impartial intelligence gathered from a wide range of sources provides the evidence to make the estimates in this document. The associated meta-data and methodology provides more details.

Quality

The data are collected and collated along sector lines by specialist horticultural consultants, who are knowledgeable of the crops and various production methods for each sector. Standard operating procedures are in place for collecting and recording the data. In addition to the broad method which sources and compares information from different origins, estimates are compared against other official survey data figures where possible e.g. Defra June Survey. The figures are also checked for consistency and trend analysis against historic data. Quality assurance of the data is carried out by the project manager and a dedicated quality control manager. The list of growers and other contacts is regularly reviewed and maintained to ensure that it is kept up to date. Panel membership relevant to fruit data collection is kept under review to assist maintenance of up to date knowledge of the crops being reported. In addition, an annual narrative highlighting the main factors that have affected crop areas and harvested production is provided to explain and justify the estimates, including any significant variation in yields, production and shifts in cropping area.

Due to the way in which the data are sourced, it is not possible to calculate standard errors or confidence intervals. The general target coverage in terms of area grown is to obtain cropping information based on at least 80% of the latest Defra published figure for horticulture. For crops where production is more dispersed i.e. grown by a relatively large number of smaller growers, this can be challenging, in such cases, greater reliance is placed on information on sources other than just the key growers.

Revisions policy

Figures in the statistical notice and datasets for the latest year reported are provisional and subject to revision. We will provide information about any revisions we make to previously published information in the statistical notice, and the associated datasets. Revisions could occur for various reasons, including when data from third parties is unavailable or provisional at the time of publishing.

Revisions

The 2021 figures are now final estimates. From previously published figures changes made to the trade data, both imports and exports, for fruit, vegetables and ornamentals. This changed the percent of supplies provided by home-grown market. UK yield tables are now available in the dataset.

Data users

The UK government use these statistics to support policy makers and improve profitability of the horticulture sector, to monitor productivity and competitiveness including supply and self-sufficiency, to inform growers and the trade about markets, to assess the impact of disease outbreaks, e.g. E-coli.

Future publications

This is an annual release. The next release will be in June 2024.

Section 6 - What you need to know about this release

This section ensures any important information is clearly explained so users do not misunderstand the data.

Contact details

Responsible statistician: Lisa Brown

Email: crops-statistics@defra.gov.uk

Media enquiries: 0330 041 6560

Public enquiries: 020 802 66340

National Statistics Status

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. The continued designation of these statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in 2014 following a compliance check by the UK Statistics Authority (now the Office for Statistics Regulation) against the Code of Practice for Statistics. Since the last review of these statistics in 2014, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics. For general enquiries about National Statistics, contact the National Statistics Public Enquiry Service:

Tel: 0845 601 3034

Email: info@statistics.gov.uk

You can find National Statistics on the internet on the Gov.uk website.

Section 7 - Glossary

• Planted Area (hectares) - This relates to the ‘planted’ area on which the crops are actually grown - excluding hedgerows etc. In the case of orchards it relates to the ‘tree’ area rather than the field area (this is in line with the Orchard Fruit Survey).
• Marketable Yield (tonnes per hectare) - This relates to the average tonnage actually harvested per planted hectare taking into account any waste losses (post-harvest). Wastage relates to any post-harvest item for which no income is obtained, such as storage losses, including both weight loss and rots. • Marketable Production (tonnes) - The total figure for the harvested crop is derived from the planted area multiplied by harvested yield taking into account wastage figures (post-harvest).
• Crop Year - The crop year will vary according to the production pattern of each crop and when the majority of the crop is harvested and marketed. Some crops may mature early, others late; in either case production will be assigned to the crop year in which the majority of the crop was marketed.
• Multi Cropping - The cultivation of more than one crop on the same piece of land in one year. Multi-cropping of sequentially planted crops is taken into account when calculating areas (e.g. of lettuce), but in the case of cucumbers, although the long-season crop is planted either once or twice during the season, it is counted as a single crop for area purposes, with each crop yield being totalled through the season to provide a single production figure. This accords with industry practice.
• Farm-gate prices (in £/tonne) or value based on farm-gate price - The price the farmer is paid for his produce with no extra delivery or packaging costs.