Skip to main content

Vegetable Crops

Volume 981: debated on Thursday 27 March 1980

The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the estimated acreage and tonnage of vegetables grown and harvested in the 1978 and 1979 seasons and the percentage of each vegetable crop frozen and canned in each of those seasons.

Information is not available in the form requested. The following table shows tonnages marketed during each of the last two calendar years and the approximate proportions which went for processing in 1978—data for 1979 are not yet available. This depends on estimating the original fresh weights from the processed weights. These figures can therefore only be taken as a broad guide to relative magnitudes and year-to-year changes in these percentages cannot be measured with any accuracy.

VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

1978

1979 (estimated)

1978 Approximate percentages of output processed

Cropped areas (Hectares)

Output marketed ('000 tonnes)

Cropped areas (Hectares)

Output marketed ('000 tonnes)

Frozen

Canned

Other

*

IN THE OPEN
Beetroot3,339933,225109438
Carrots18,12867715,4455783193
Parsnips3,513633,51765
Turnips and Swedes5,5092025,189162
Onions Dry Bulb8,5852198,4462647
Onions Green1,851241,78122
Total roots and onions40,92537,603
Brussels Sprouts14,25920113,77518013
Cabbage26,66865127,0915521
Cauliflower14,96528215,03818556
Total brassicas55,89255,904
Peas, Harvested Dry38,24783†38,63080†100
Beans, Broad4,858484,639423641
Beans, Runner and French12,55310112,3071083522
Peas, Green for Market3,934333,98031
Peas, Green for Processing48,300190†49,075221†603010
Total other legumes69,64570,001
Asparagus3561353140
Celery1,574591,5976242
Leeks1,747371,79130
Lettuce6,6701126,048112
Rhubarb1,005401,10835430
Watercress1174994
Others9,0421668,751168
Total other vegetables20,51119,747
Total in the Open225,220221,885

1978

1979 (estimated)

1978 Approximate percentages of output processed

Cropped areas (Hectares)

Output marketed ('000 tonnes)

Cropped Output areas (Hectares)

Output marketed ('000 tonnes)

Frozen

Canned

Other*

PROTECTED CROPS
Tomatoes976133161134
Cucumbers2435623154
Lettuce1,339381,27235
Mushrooms356513595218
Others3331333513
Total protected crops3,2473,158
TOTAL VEGETABLES228,467225,043

* Soups, pickles, etc.

† Shelled weight.

Notes: Cropped areas are classified according to the year in which harvesting commenced. Output figures comprise tonnages harvested and marketed during that year and any marketing from store of the previous year's crop.