While the potato sector battles against sensational headlines about ring rot and the effect this might have on consumers, the fresh produce industry continues to re-align itself to meet the ever-changing demands of its more immediate customers.

It appears we are in the midst of another significant supplier downsizing exercise across the retail categories, which will force even more companies to re-assess their existing infrastructure and its relevance to their long-term viability.

Mergers and acquisitions, shake-ups and shake-downs, and unfortunately redundancies are destined to be woven into the industry's fabric for a long time to come.

Geest pulling out of WWF looks to be a positive development for all parties. WWF now has a solid base from which to expand further and the now disbanded triumvirate completed off by Enza has certainly done the job it set out to do. It will be interesting to see what Geest has up its sleeve next.

The retail picture remains murky and will do so until the Safeway acquisition is completed. However, the major players are all performing well and professing healthy optimism for their own futures.

Fruit and vegetable consumption will increase in the next few years and that has to be good news for suppliers to all sectors. Who will those suppliers be? Now that is a question.