Nicholas Marston of soft fruit supplier KG Fruits was drawing comparisons between the English berry and top fruit sectors at the second day of the Adas/HRI/Emra soft fruit conference earlier this week as part of a presentation on changes in the UK market.

The apple industry has lost its way he said. 'I was looking round the multiples and English Cox is available at 45p a lb. French Braeburn at 63p a lb,' he said. 'French Braeburn is better quality than English Cox. It commands a 40 per cent premium and is selling in volume. I don't need taste panels to tell me these prices are dictated by demand.' His comments were a cautionary tale for delegates at the event. The English soft fruit sector is enjoying sales growth – as well as good consumer loyalty – but there are challenges looming.

One of these is the withdrawal of pesticide methyl bromine in 2005. Marston said the move was based more on politics than scientific fact – but it will nevertheless put pressure on soft fruit growers.

Citing one attraction in last year's Millennium Dome that displayed the message that 83 per cent of strawberries have pesticide residues, Marston said he is worried about the increasingly negative publicity about pesticide use and the limiting effect this may have on growers' options for crop control.

'This won't go away,' he said. 'I'm concerned by the drive to reduce pesticides by groups such as Friends of the Earth.' Marston also questioned the validity of assertions made by the organics lobby. 'There is a lot of bull talked by the organic industry about 30 to 40 per cent growth – I suspect this is because of new lines. I don't believe there is any significant growth on existing lines and I think most of the multiples would agree with me.' On ethical trading he said: 'Ethical trading is not just about sweatshops in Thailand. Staff costs have increased remorselessly with the minimum wage and now holiday pay. However, on the upside there has been an increase in the availability of labour. Everybody said five years ago that we couldn't get any labour.' He added that we would be unlikely to hear that now.

Marston said he would expect to see a greater number of larger businesses in the industry in the future. Also, he issued a warning to retailers that they must return growers the right money if they want the soft fruit sector to satisfy demand and reinvest.

The average turnover of KG strawberry growers in 1995 was £280,000 a year and today it is £460,000.

The conference New Developments in the Soft Fruit Industry was held at the Ashford International Hotel on November 27-28.

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