Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent conversations she has had with the British Berry Growers Association about the challenges faced by British Berry Growers.

Defra Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of horticultural stakeholders, including the British Berry Growers association, to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the sector, including through the Horticulture Environment and Growth Group, of which they are a member, and which provides an important forum for engagement between government and industry on matters affecting horticultural businesses.

The Government is also working with industry, on a Horticulture Sector Growth Plan aiming to grow the sector’s profit. These are sector-led, using sector expertise to create evidence-based plans setting out a clear vision for growth and a practical pathway to deliver it.