GIMA welcomed the stamp duty changes announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement this week because an upturn in the housing market should boost demand for home and garden products.

GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall, said: “A buoyant UK housing market tends to result in increased consumer confidence. This coupled with the upwardly revised UK growth forecasts should help to encourage consumer spending in 2015.

“Fuel and haulage rates continue to be a major problem for manufacturers and suppliers. The freeze on fuel duty will go some way to help our members battle this ever increasing overhead.

“Smaller members will be delighted that the government has continued to pledge funds to support and guarantee lending to SME's via banks and venture capital funding. We tend to forget that although there are a number of dominant brands and suppliers in our industry, there are also a huge number of smaller suppliers trying to stake their claim in the garden industry.

In the longer term, Nuttall said, the proposed review of the business rates system should go some way to support the traditional bricks and mortar retail channels in their fight against on-line retailers. “Anything that helps support our member's retail customers businesses should be good for our members too, as long as they choose to re-invest in the gardening category.”