RDC(3) WBC1

Rural Development Sub-Committee

Inquiry into the Wine. Beer and Cider Industry in Wales

Response from Blaengawney Cider

What contribution do the wine, beer and cider industries make to the agriculture, food and tourism sectors to the Welsh economy and what opportunities exist for developing this further?

We pick apples from Welsh orchards within the locality and pay the farmer/grower for what we pick, thereby generating income for those farmers. We are also planting 1000 cider apple trees on our farm this winter.  This process puts money into Welsh farms as well as retailers, as we supply these outlets.  

There is also an environmental and bio-diversity benefit associated with tree planting.

We are directly involved in supplying cider/perry festivals organised by the Welsh Perry and Cider Society across Wales which contribute to the tourism industry. The largest of those is the festival held in Monmouthshire at the end of May which attracts thousands of visitors, many from outside of Wales. We also supply the Green Man Music Festival which is held in Crickhowell and attracts many thousands of visitors from the UK and abroad.

We also participate in the WPCS organised Cider Meals in Wales which are held at various pubs and this contributes to micro food tourism in local areas by attracting people to something a bit different in their local pubs.

What barriers to development are faced by the wine, beer and cider industries and how could these be overcome?

A major barrier is the duty structure as currently we can only produce 7000 litres without attracting duty. This is a great encouragement to us and other small scale producers, however, the ‘all or nothing’ approach to paying duty is not helpful as it doesn’t encourage a slow expansion. A graded system would be fairer where duty was only charged on the amount of cider/perry produced over and above the 7000 litres. A graded structure would do more to help small scale producers like us to gradually increase production levels. As it stands, if we want to make more than 7000 litres we would have to make a huge jump in production levels in order to afford the duty which will be charged and this discourages us from expanding.

We would welcome financial help for the planting of our much needed trees so grant aid to producers and farmers with land available for planting orchards like us would greatly help. There is of course a significant time delay between planting and fruit production, and there is a real risk that the strong growth that is emerging in the sector will be stifled by a lack of Welsh fruit, and a growing deficit of demand over supply. We are therefore keen to plant as many trees as possible to try to become self sufficient in case of short supply because of this growth.

There is no bottling facility that small scale producers like us could use and the establishment of a co-operative bottling facility would be a welcome help as we have to bottle by hand using a 6 head manual filling machine.

We found there was little in the way of training and education for fledgling cider makers when we started making cider but received great support and guidance from the WPCS.

There is a poor perception of alcoholic drinks within the UK, and there are a number of international producers flooding the market with cheap, poor quality drinks which only helps encourage this perception. However, we and other Welsh cider and perry producers strive to make a quality product which we aim to sell at a premium price to the more select buyer.

How much use is made of locally produced basic ingredients by the wine, beer and cider industries and what opportunities are provided within these industries in Wales for crop diversification?

We use Welsh orchards for our fruit and hope to become self sufficient by planting our own apple trees at our farm, although some small scale cider makers use some apples bought from English growers. Cider is a unique drink as it only has one ingredient which is cider apples. We believe there is great opportunity for diversification into this area from the more traditional farming activities.

If, as we hope PDO status is achieved by welsh cider producers there will be greater demand for locally grown fruit including indigenous welsh varieties as the demand for welsh cider and perry increases to a wider market.

Does the planning system facilitate or hamper development, and what changes would be desirable?

The Planning System is liberal for agricultural use but less so for small scale producers who want to use their limited facilities for cider/perry making. Planning is very strict on access and the construction of new buildings which doesn’t help the small scale producer like us. Furthermore, when the scale of processing the raw ingredient of apples to produce cider extends beyond agricultural definitions, the planning framework is not helpful. Makers who purchase fruit from other growers can be subject to punitive business rates, as their operation is viewed as industrial rather than agricultural from a planning perspective, which small-scale producers cannot afford and can put them out of business. Producers like us need to be able to augment their own fruit production with additional fruit without fear of falling foul of Planning laws. This can be achieved through the implementation of a more flexible planning regime that recognises the increasing diversification of rural incomes away from traditional enterprises.

How effective is current promotion of Welsh wine, beer and cider as quality products in Wales and beyond?

The drinks industry in Wales has perhaps been overlooked a little by the emphasis nationally by Welsh Assembly Government on the promotion of the food industry. With a number of strategies in place that focus on the food industry, i.e. the Food Tourism Strategy and Local Sourcing Action Plan, the drinks industry is perhaps seen as secondary.  

Is there sufficient support currently available for the set-up and expansion of businesses in this sector - including research and development support – and is the support provided effective?

Currently there is nothing available from WAG specific to the cider/perry industry and individual producers like ourselves, especially in terms of research support or business development support for growth and development in the drinks sector. There are however, the usual local level business support agencies that can be accessed, as well as Process and Marketing grant support for producers. We have been lucky enough to be awarded a grant from Caerphilly via the Rural Development Fund for Marketing which has been a great help.

What further action could the Welsh Government take to support the development of the wine, beer and cider industries in Wales?

Cider has historically been made in Wales for centuries and is therefore a part of our culture.  To maintain the revival of cidermaking we believe the cider and perry industry would benefit from help with planning and other regulatory issues and a fairer graded system on duty. We would welcome a further expansion of support which might include grants for orchard planting, bottling facilities, farm diversification, public relations and small business development for growth of the industry.