Easter 4p veg deals criticised as growers face sharp cost increases

Easter veg deals that have seen some lines cut to 4p “don’t send a good message” at a time when many sectors are preparing to absorb extreme cost increases due to the Iran war and new energy standing costs.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme, Today, chair of the tomato growers’ association, Simon Conway, said he could understand why retailers use produce to tempt shoppers into stores, but said “it’s not a good thing”.

“You’ve got two of the major retailers coming out this Easter offering bags of potatoes and bags of carrots for 4p,” he said. “They use fresh produce as an absolute battleground on price. There is no margin on absolutely any of it to absorb the cost shocks we’re seeing.”

Aldi and Morrisons have gone head-to-head on an Easter weekend price war, to help cash-strapped shoppers enjoy a traditional roast dinner for less. 

“It doesn’t send a good message: 4p for a two kiloes of potatoes, that is clearly not the cost to produce,” said Conway. ”It is a fantastic deal for the cost of living, and people buying food. Ultimately the grower has to fund that.

“The reality of cost of food production gets warped in consumers’ mind,” he continued. “When it goes back to normal price, they think it’s too expensive. From the industry perspective, it’s not a great thing.” 

The news comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week met with supermarket bosses to discuss the cost-of-living, in the face of higher input and oil costs due to the Middle East conflict.

Conway was speaking today (1 April) as the rise in energy standing charges came into force, which are expected to millions in added costs to glasshouse crop production.

“My largest grower, in Kent, is facing £1m of costs today just on fixed network charges,” said Conway. “Their competitor in Holland, only a few miles across the water, has not got that impact. If I’m a supermarket, which will I choose?”

In addition to network charges for electricity rising, Conway said gas prices, a key input for glasshouse production, have been “bouncing around and have effectively doubled”. 

“Energy as an input cost for growers is about a third. If a third of the cost has gone up by between 60 and 100 per cent, that’s a big impact,” he said. 

Asked whether his industry is also warning retailers that prices will rise, Conway said: “Our message to the whole supply chain is pressures on price are absolutely relentless and it’s inevitable that prices will have to go up. This is a brutally competitive industry operating on very low margins.”