Further decline in bee populations could cost British farmers hundreds of millions of pounds and completely wipe out the apple industry, according to scientists.

The authors of a major UN report warn that urgent action is needed to halt the decrease of pollinators, as many types of crop production would be commercially unviable without them.

Other produce such as rape, they argue, could not be nearly as efficiently grown without the help of bees, and an absence of the insects would load extra costs onto both shoppers and farmers.
Pollinators are estimated to save British farms nearly £700 million a year, and the new report found that three-quarters of the world’s crops, worth £403 billion, rely on them.

Professor Simon Potts from the University of Reading, who led the new research, said: “Doing nothing is a big risk that could endanger the global supply of nutritious foods and the livelihoods of millions of people.”