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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on the horticulture sector.

It is not possible to precisely determine the direct impacts of the war in Ukraine on the UK horticulture sector, as they are dependent on a range of interrelated factors.

The war in Ukraine led to rising oil, fuel and energy prices, which created inflationary pressures right across the food chain. Difficulties stemming from the rising input costs and shortages were initially reported by the horticulture sector with farmers experiencing higher energy and fertiliser costs. International energy prices subsequently fell as the global economy adjusted to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This contributed to an easing of input price inflation.

We continue to keep the situation and any impact on our agri-food sectors under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.