Britain’s plum industry is finally emerging from a "decades-long decline," with a significant harvest anticipated this year, a leading grower has revealed.
Official Defra figures show UK plum production peaked in 1987 at 28,900 tonnes, before plummeting to a mere 2,500 tonnes by 2008. This sharp downturn was driven by lower yields and cheaper imports.
Since that low point, growers have strategically adapted, embracing new plum varieties and implementing modern farming systems. This proactive approach is now yielding results, with production this summer set to be the largest in three years, signalling a robust recovery for the sector, confirmed Kent-based fruit grower WB Chambers.
Its commercial director James Miller said: “The UK plum industry has now started to pull out of a decades-long decline and the quality of the fruit coming through right now, and the yield, is the best we’ve seen for ages.
“There is a real momentum growing within the plum industry again.”
The UK’s plum production area fell from 2,400 hectares in 1985 to 800 hectares in 2017 as growers turned to fruits with higher profitability.
Mr Miller added: “As cheaper imports flooded the market and plum production became less profitable, interest in growing the fruit dwindled.
“But we have now invested in new root stocks as well as modern farming systems such as automatic minimal irrigation and soil moisture analysis.”
WB Chambers said the new varieties as well as this year’s perfect growing conditions means it has doubled its production from 150 tonnes in 2024 to 300 tonnes this summer.
Tesco fruit category buying manager Simon Reeves said: “We are hearing similar reports from all our growers and main plum supplier that this has been the best harvest for about three years.
“The quality of the British-grown plums arriving at our stores across the UK right now is easily the best we’ve seen for several years – plump, juicy and sweet.”
The grower also said new varieties of plum have a better shelf life that will help cut down on wastage.
