Indoor growers warn April price jump will hinder sector’s competitiveness and drive up costs for consumers
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utside, it’s an overcast and blustery February day in Kent – hardly the ideal conditions for growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Yet inside the enormous glasshouses run by grower Thanet Earth, the climate has been optimised to a humid 20C, perfect for the regimented rows of small pepper plants poking out of raised trays.
Growing fresh produce indoors in the south of England year-round requires plenty of energy to provide light, warmth and carbon dioxide. But the site’s energy bills are about to grow too, when a significant increase in electricity standing charges comes into force on 1 April.
“It’s a ticking timebomb,” says Rob James, the technical director at Thanet Earth, which supplies most of the UK’s large supermarket chains. The company estimates the rise in standing charges will add £900,000 a year to its existing energy bill, equivalent to a 5% increase in total tomato production costs. Future increases to standing charges will see this rise to £1.6m in additional annual energy costs by 2028.
