British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) has published findings from its latest grower survey (conducted in late 2025), showing that audit and compliance demands and labour costs are the dominant pressures on UK apple and pear businesses.
Farm assurance, compliance and audit was the highest-scoring issue in the survey: 97% of growers and 67% of grower/packers selected it as a top-three business challenge.
Labour costs were also cited at very high levels: 85% of growers and 89% of grower/packers included labour costs in their top three challenges.
An anonymous grower said: “Farming is less fun than it was: paperwork, low returns, labour problems and cost – and now I can’t pass assets to my son, so why bother?”
Signs of improvement: confidence and ‘true partnership’ with retailers
While growers continue to flag severe pressure on costs and long-term returns, the survey indicates some improvement versus 2023 in two areas:
- Confidence: 43% of respondents said they are less confident about the future than a year ago, compared with 70% in 2023.
- Retailer relationships: 14% of respondents described their relationship with supermarkets as a “true partnership”, up from 3% in 2023.
BAPL says the direction of travel is positive but warns that progress will not hold unless the industry tackles the compounding impact of compliance burden, labour challenges and volatile input costs.
Immediate pressure: fertiliser and fuel costs rising sharply due to the conflict
BAPL is also warning that the US-Israel-Iran conflict is now driving a rapid escalation in key inputs, landing at one of the worst possible moments for top fruit growers. February and March are the very start of the growing season, and the period when many orchards must secure fertiliser and fuel for spring operations – purchases that cannot simply be deferred.
One British apple farm reported that the fertiliser cost was 42% higher than the same time last year. The same business reported kerosene/heating oil moving from around 65p/litre to £1.30/litre in recent weeks. BAPL says growers are also reporting sharp volatility in red diesel pricing and availability.
Disruption around the Strait of Hormuz is a key driver of the current volatility. The Strait is a major global shipping chokepoint for energy and fertiliser supply chains. Disruption in and around Hormuz can restrict shipments and raise freight and input costs, while higher gas prices can quickly translate into higher nitrogen fertiliser prices – natural gas typically accounts for around 60-80% of nitrogen fertiliser production costs.
An anonymous grower/packer said: “We can’t pause the season. These are inputs we need now – and sudden price spikes feed straight into our cost of production.”
Ali Capper, executive chair of British Apples & Pears, said: “This survey shows the scale of pressure growers are under from audit burden and labour costs – and now we are facing a fresh input-cost shock just as the season starts.
“Growers’ confidence has improved since 2023, but it won’t hold if another prolonged input-cost shock takes hold.
“Growers can’t simply pause buying fertiliser, fuel and energy. If these cost spikes persist through the spring, they will feed directly into food inflation – and it’s vital that government and the supply chain act early. Ministers and the Bank of England need to understand what’s happening on the ground, and the Grocery Code Adjudicator should remind retailers of the rules around cost-inflation discussions so legitimate increases can be addressed fairly.”
BAPL is working closely with fellow crop associations and sector bodies to highlight the ‘on farm’ impacts of the current conflict to political stakeholders.