THE SCOTTISH HARDY NURSERY STOCK INDUSTRY

THE SCOTTISH HARDY NURSERY STOCK INDUSTRY

In 1996 the Department conducted a sample survey of 86 growers who had returned an area of hardy nursery stock at the June 1995 Agricultural census. (Holdings returning areas of trees for forestry were not included). The survey sought to obtain information on the size and value of the hardy nursery stock industry in Scotland and was restricted to the commercial sector by excluding Local Authorities etc. from the sample.

Table 1 shows the distribution of holdings which had returned an area of hardy nursery stock at the June 1996 Agricultural census and the corresponding number of holdings sampled within each area band. The greatest proportion of holdings (60%) had an area of hardy nursery stock of less than 1 hectare, however these holdings only account for 8% of the total area of hardy nursery stock. A further 17% of holdings had an area of hardy nursery stock between 1 and 2 hectares. These holdings accounted for only a further 9% of the total area of hardy nursery stock. Only 4% of holdings had a hardy nursery stock area of greater than 10 hectares but these holdings accounted for 54% of the total hardy nursery stock area.

Table 1 Distribution of Holdings by Area of Hardy Nursery Stock

	1996 Census Returns				Sample
Area of hardy nursery stock (in hectares)	Number of holdings	% of total holdings	Area	% of total area	Number of holdings	% of total holdings	Area	% of total area
0 - 0.99	89	60	29.4	8	39	45	22.6	9.5
1 - 1.99	25	17	33.5	9	19	22	26.1	11
2 - 3.99	18	12	41.3	11	11	13	27.5	11.5
4 - 9.99	11	7	67.4	18	11	13	71.7	30
10 +	6	4	201.3	54	6	7	92.0	38
Total	149	100	372.9	100	86	100	239.9	100

Table 2 below shows that the area of hardy nursery stock under production on commercial holdings in 1996 was just over 340 hectares. The largest area was under ornamental trees and shrubs at 249 hectares.

Table 2 Area of Hardy Nursery Stock Under Production (hectares) in 1996

	Scotland
Fruit Stocks	33.2
Roses	22.9
Ornamental Trees and Shrubs	249.1
Herbaceous/Alpines	35.4
TOTAL¹	340.6

A breakdown of the areas of hardy nursery stock under production into area given to field or container growing is shown in Table 3. Fruit stocks and roses are grown mainly in the field whereas herbaceous/alpine plants are grown mainly in containers. Ornamental trees and shrubs were grown using both methods although more area was given to containers.

Table 3 Area of Hardy Nursery Stock Grown in Containers or Field (in hectares) in 1996

	Fruit Stocks	Roses	Ornamental Trees and Shrubs	Herbaceous /Alpines	Total
Container	0.1	0.2	133.1	32.2	165.6
Field	33.1	22.7	116.0	3.2	175.0
Total	33.2	22.9	249.1	35.4	340.6

Protected cropping was available on 67% of holdings. Polythene was the most popular material and covered 58% of the total protected cropping area on its own, and a further 15% when used in conjunction with net. Glass was available on 40% of holdings but only accounted for 26% of the protected area. Table 4 shows the estimated area given to protected cropping on hardy stock nursery holdings in Scotland.

Table 4 Estimated Protected Cropping on Hardy Nursery Stock Holdings in 1996

	Scotland (Area in m²)	% of total protected cropping area	% of holdings in the sample with protected cropping
Glass	77,013	26	40
Polythene	158,727	58	51
Polythene and net	28,890	15	12
Other	3,418	1	5
Total	268,048	100	67

Table 5 below shows the value of sales of hardy nursery stock together with the cost of bought-in stock for 1996. The total value of sales was estimated at just under £34 million with 98% being sales within the UK and 2% direct exports to outwith the UK. The largest export share was recorded for the herbaceous/alpines sector where an estimated £648 thousand of sales went directly for export. More than £3.8 million worth of stock was bought-in from outwith the UK, either for quick resale or growing on. Ornamental trees and shrubs represented more than 90% of this figure. With a total estimate from all sources of £12.9 million worth of stock being bought-in for resale and a further estimate of £2.5 million worth for growing on, this gives a total bought-in value estimate of £15.4 million. The estimated value of sales less bought-in stock in Scotland in 1996 was therefore £18.4 million.

Table 5 Value of Hardy Nursery Stock Under Production (in pounds thousands) in 1996

		Fruit Stocks	Roses	Trees & Shrubs	Herbaceous & Alpines	Total
Sales Value
	UK Sales	156	830	28,342	3,715	33,043
	Sales Outwith UK	66	0	0	648	714
	Total Sales	222	830	28,342	4,363	33,757
Bought-In Value
For resale
	From UK	36	124	8,664	682	9,505
	From Outwith UK	0	24	3,322	45	3,392
	Total	36	148	11,986	727	12,897
For Growing On
	From UK	5	38	1,852	133	2,028
	From Outwith UK	0	54	374	14	443
	Total	5	92	2,226	147	2,471
Total Bought-In²		41	240	14,212	874	15,368
Total Sales Value Less Bought-In Value		181	590	14,130	3,489	18,389

^{1 This area differs from the
1996 June Census area. This is because some producers were no longer growing hardy nursery
stock by the time the Hardy Nursery Stock Survey was conducted and also because this area
relates only to area "under production".
2 The estimate of £15.4 million worth of
bought-in stock does not include stock purchased by nurseries which do not grow hardy
nursery stock and were thus outwith the scope of this survey. The £15.4 million does not
therefore represent the total value of bought-in stock marketed in Scotland.}