The reopening of garden centres has provided a 'lifeline' for plant and flower growers left devastated by the near complete loss of their market due to Covid-19.
The overnight closure in March of garden centres, florists and other retail outlets resulted in growers losing significant proportions of their perishable stock products.
The National Farmers Union said it pushed many of these vital businesses to 'near collapse'.
The union raised the issue with MPs across parliament, stressing the need for garden centres to be allowed to reopen as soon as it was safe to do so.
The British ornamentals and landscaping sector contributed £24.2bn to national GDP in 2017, supported 587,700 jobs and contributed £5.4bn in tax revenues.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) estimates that nearly a third of businesses could be lost as a result of the lockdown restrictions.
The 2020 crop, consisting of flowers and bulbs, pot plants and hardy nursery stock, is estimated to be worth £1.4 billion. The HTA estimate that compensation up to £250m is needed.
NFU president Minette Batters said that while garden centres reopening will provide some relief, it is not the 'total solution' for growers.
"It remains the case that they will still need proper financial support to ensure they can survive, having already lost the vast majority of the peak season already," she said.
“Thousands of family businesses, built up over generations, have been supplying the country’s growing appetite for gardening over the years and we want to ensure they survive to continue meeting this demand with fantastic British-grown plants.
“I would encourage the public to look out for British plants and flowers if they are visiting garden centres, specialist plant nurseries and supermarkets, or if they’re shopping online.”
The NFU is asking the government to provide financial grant support to businesses which have had to dispose of stock.
It added that growers must have better access to existing government support, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) by extending the repayment period to at least 10 years and removing the state aid restrictions.
