The value of vegetables produced in the UK rose by 10% to just under £1.9 billion in 2023

The value of home-grown vegetables increased by 10% to just under £1.9 billion in 2023, while the volume of home-grown production fell by 4.9% to 2.2 million tonnes. The value of field vegetables increased by 12% to £1.5 billion (an increase of £155 million), while the value of protected vegetables increased by 3.7% to £374 million (an increase of £13 million).

The value of domestically produced fruit has risen to just over £1 billion, up 3.1% on 2022, with production volumes down 12% to 585,000 tonnes. UK ornamentals were worth £1.7 billion in 2023, up 9.6% on 2022.

The area under vegetable cultivation decreased by 6.5% to 101,000 hectares. A drier start to the year than expected allowed for widespread sowing of carrots, onions and parsnips in the east of England. Crops sown during this period produced above average yields. A wet spring meant little planting or sowing was done on areas with lighter soils, which also made harvesting difficult, particularly on the heavier soils. This significantly delayed the start of the season for most crops. In early summer the weather became hot and dry, so any crops sown during this period benefited farmers with access to irrigation, while those without struggled to get their crops to germinate or grow. In July the weather turned wet and this continued until the end of the year, causing crop and disease problems.

The area under brassicas decreased by 3.1% to 23,000 hectares. Where conditions permitted planting, plants grew well as the colder, wetter conditions were favourable and this initially helped some plants to become established after the hot, dry months of May and June. However, as rain continued into autumn and winter, waterlogging significantly slowed growth and generally resulted in lower yields.

Broccoli yields fell 0.4% to 8.5 tonnes per hectare, while market prices rose 4.3% to £2.43 per kg. The total value of the crop rose to £107 million, a 0.2% decline on 2022 levels. Production fell 1.4% to 63,000 tonnes and the area under cultivation decreased 1.0% to 7,465 hectares.

Cauliflower yields fell 9.2% to 8.1 tonnes per hectare, market prices rose 50% to £1.26 per head, and the total value of the crop rose 33% to £75 million. Year-on-year, the area under cultivation fell 1.1% to 8,754 hectares, and total production fell 10% to 71,000 tonnes.

In 2023, the smallest area of ​​onions planted in several decades was recorded at 7,349 hectares, mainly due to poor planting conditions in spring and poor harvesting conditions in autumn. Some growers started sowing in dry weather earlier in the year and achieved good yields; however, those who had to wait (due to persistent rainfall in March and April) struggled to achieve satisfactory yields. Rain in the second half of the growing season resulted in much larger onions than expected, and overall yields increased by 13% to 38 tonnes per hectare. Total production fell by 3.6% to 283,000 tonnes, with value up 48% to £196 million and the average market price up 54% to £0.81 per kg.

Source: .gov.uk