The Great Orchard Squeeze: Housing, Costs and Imports Put UK Fruit at Risk

The UK’s orchard industry faces a precarious future, with escalating pressures from housing developments, rising costs and land-use competition threatening the viability of top-fruit production.

A newly released report by the sustainability charity Forum for the Future, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, reveals that more than half of all orchards in England and Wales have been lost, largely as a result of competing land-use priorities such as new housing.

Key Challenges Identified

The report outlines five major challenges facing commercial and community orchards:

• Competing land-use pressures, especially from housing, which have driven significant orchard loss.

• The climate emergency, bringing more extreme weather, pests and disease risks.

• Heavy import dependence: the UK produces only around 40 per cent of its own apples and just 9 per cent of pears and plums.

• The economic squeeze on growers, with rising costs and investment burdens making it harder to sustain production.

• Consumer demand focusing on a narrow set of fruit attributes – taste, size and colour – limiting profitability for growers.

What the Report Calls For

The Forum’s vision sets out how the sector could thrive by:

• Increasing the UK’s self-sufficiency in top fruit and ensuring commercial growers secure supportive contracts.

• Protecting traditional and community orchards as assets for biodiversity, culture and local food supply.

• Strengthening skills, jobs and investment in orchard systems of all scales.

• Promoting UK-grown orchard produce – including fine cider – as part of competitive global markets.

Why Housing Is Such a Threat

The housing threat is more than just a loss of orchard space. It reflects a broader shift in land-use priorities that makes orchard investment riskier, particularly when growers face uncertain returns and high costs.

Over time, this dynamic has eroded orchard area such that traditional orchard habitats have become increasingly rare in Britain.

What This Means for the Fresh Produce Sector

For marketers, retailers and supply-chain stakeholders, these findings underline that:

• The supply base for UK-grown top fruit is under pressure, making it increasingly important to monitor and support domestic production.

• Land-use decisions, including housing and infrastructure projects, are directly impacting fresh-produce supply and should be factored into long-term sourcing strategies.

• Grower viability and supply-chain resilience depend on policies and contracts that recognise the full value of orchards – economic, environmental and community.

• Branding UK-grown heritage fruit, and cider derived from it, could gain traction as consumers seek provenance and sustainability.

Ultimately, the orchard sector’s challenges go far beyond weather or market trends. Strategic risks such as housing development and land-use competition are reshaping the very foundations of UK top-fruit supply.

As the sector reimagines its future, all parts of the supply chain will need to take note.