The hemisphere changeover continues to tax suppliers despite the fact that there is an ever-increasing number of sources represented on retail shelves.

The situation with stone fruit is a case in point. While the distribution chain seems to have been awash with plums from both South Africa and Chile, it is a different story when it comes to peaches and nectarines, and apricots barely have a presence at all.

Cherries that really make the tills ring are still a faint hope in retailers’ minds until California gets underway, and it seems there is not a blackberry to be had until Spain makes an appearance.

Meanwhile, in a bid to try and close some of the gaps, Marks & Spencer has been casting its net as far afield as Australia for white-flesh nectarines and is offering a four pack of Arctic Snow priced at £2.99. Tesco is still finding sources in Chile with yellow-flesh Ryan Sun peaches retailing at £3.49.

However, what caught my eye in the store, apart from the price, was a new departure in its Eat me, Keep Me range. The concept, which I believe began with bananas, is no longer new, but the Tesco packs show that the simplest ideas are still the best, and the store is now stickering less mature fruit. It of course places more responsibility on the retailer - or should I say category manager - to deliver the goods, but that is marketing for you.

And in parallel, the development of new descriptions continues apace. Sainsbury’s is now calling its convenient, bite-sized barbecue sweetcorn Cobettes and has them priced at £1.69 for four. Sourcing of the product at this time of the year is from the US, which is a regular supplier. However, I wonder what happened to those silvery-white, high-sugar varieties of sweetcorn that I saw growing years ago in Florida. The products certainly had a wonderful taste, but do not seem to have caught on our side of the Atlantic.

Reviewing the apple market, I was interested to hear last week that South African Cox has been programmed by Sainsbury’s. I remember selling this variety when I worked in Covent Garden in the 1950s alongside White Winter Pearmain.

Both then disappeared as the emphasis switched to Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, while New Zealand was left as the sole, and then highly profitable, source of Cox.

Meanwhile, at a time when young spring vegetables are beginning to make a showing, the mixed-pack medleys are set to have a field day. More space is being allocated to providing this convenience, in the same way that helped bagged salads take off.

M&S, which has always prided itself in being among the leaders, has come up with a new stir-fry collection which it is offering at £1.99. The pack includes the lesser known Tatsoi with sugar snap peas, as well as some of what must be the smallest trimmed spring onions yet to appear.

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