The era of cheap food is finally over and it will become undeniably obvious that growers need substantial returns to survive, according to Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.

Chief economist for the banks, Tom Vosa, told delegates at the Adas/Syngenta Vegetable Conference in Peterborough last week that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the horticultural industry after the “sharpest downturn since the 1930s depression”.

He said: “We believe that the era of cheap food is over, which means that your businesses are better to lend to. The food price scare of 2007 is identical to the oil prices of 2004 and we missed a decade of under-investment in the oil industry. The increase in food prices is an indication of the need for research in the horticultural industry.

“We are coming out of the recession, but the economy will not go forward very quickly… There is a challenge ahead.”