The unique nature of the British cider trade was at the heart of discussions at the bi-annual cider reception, which is jointly hosted by the Parliamentary Cider Group and National Association of Cider Makers (NACM).
Paul Bartlett, chair of the NACM, also used the opportunity to make a repeated call for MPs to scrap the duty escalator -which increases alcohol duty above the rate of inflation every year - in order to ensure the long term stability of the industry and to allow it the opportunity to grow even stronger in future years.
Vibrant
Bartlett said: “The cider industry is a very British success story. Our long-term investment cycle, the positive impact we have on the rural economy and the large number of small independent producers the industry supports makes our trade highly unique.
“In simple terms, there is no industry in the UK similar to ours and there is no country in the world with a cider industry as vibrant, diverse and successful as ours.”
The association said that the cider industry invests in long-term schemes like planting new orchards which mean a 25 year commitment to farmers – protecting incomes and offering stability to rural communities.
Despite challenging circumstances, it said that producers have continued to invest over the last year and have engaged in a number of planting schemes which will grow the number of acres of British orchards by 10%.
Tipping point
“It is no surprise, then, that we want to see the complete removal of the duty escalator in the next Budget”, said Bartlett. “We may be at the tipping point on duty. Last year, duty rose by 5% yet government revenues increased by only £5m.
“If a further duty increase is announced in a few weeks, we face the real possibility of lower government revenues while simultaneously penalising producers and consumers – a triple whammy we would all want to avoid.”