Storm round-up: soft fruit growers face paying heavy price
ByNews reporter
Farmers are bracing themselves for heavy losses, fearing that damage to soft fruit polytunnels will run to millions of pounds.
Early reports from the soft fruit growing areas indicated devastation to polytunnels by Monday’s gales.
One grower who had managed to navigate his way around fallen trees on the roads around Blairgowrie and Alyth as he toured fruit fields reported seeing damage “which will run into the millions of pounds.”
An acre of polytunnels costs around £10,000 to erect and many growers may have lost tens of acres. Some will be insured for the loss but others may not be.
The strawberry and raspberry harvest is just getting under way and the multiple retailers who market most of the fruit insist on the crops being covered.
The plastic covers can be replaced relatively quickly but if the steel frames are bent or buckled they have to be removed for repair.
The delay involved at such a crucial juncture in the season will be very damaging to the crops and could render the fruit unsaleable.
Storm round-up: soft fruit growers face paying heavy price