i am not quite sure if it’s a case of “using a sprat to catch a mackerel”, but Tesco is launching one of the most unusual citrus promotions I have ever seen.

Salustiana has always been recognised on the continent - by the Dutch in particular, if my memory serves me correctly - as a splendid juicing orange, and the habit seems to be catching on here.

All the more reason to notice a 50p-off promotion for Tropicana juice, attached to a 2kg bag of this variety sourced from Uruguay, priced at £1.79. An invitation for the consumer to taste the difference, perhaps.

And while I was scanning the shelves, I noticed that Peru seems to have been making headway with its own crop under the Jaffa brand, at £1.69 for 88g. The variety, classified as a mandarin, was Minneola, although I have often wondered whether they really fit into being described as easy peelers. Again, it will be the customer who decides.

Marks & Spencer is now championing its own choice when it comes to grapes, with both 600g of Spanish Crimson Seedless and Greek Thompson Seedless, at £2.99 each, carrying the message that they are considered to be the retailer’s “favourite” varieties. So far, a black champion has yet to emerge, unless it is simply out of season.

Much nearer home, the British are getting more and more involved with exotics - in this case, brightly labelled mixed red and green chillies, supplied by Bedfordshire Growers at 79p a pack. What is encouraging is that they are described as “exciting”.

While chillies are a relative newcomer to UK horticulture, there are still some old favourites about. Marjorie Seedling plums continue to hold their own, and it is still possible to buy damsons, in this case supplied by Norman Collett to M&S, and priced at £2.29 for 500g.

M&S has more surprises in its Limited Edition range, with a glowing, pinkish-red French potato, a multi-purpose variety called Cherie (£2.29 for 550g). However, I do not imagine it was named in honour of our previous prime minister’s spouse!

On the vegetable front, our own growers seem to be holding the fort after the disastrous summer, although Lidl, which has always had a penchant for Germany as a source, is bringing in the country’s cauliflower and pointed cabbage, both at 69p each, and courgettes at 59p a kilo.

There are also some less obvious sources, in this case sweet potatoes from Honduras at 72p, while three Zespri Gold kiwifruit are arriving in the soft, over-wrapped punnets much beloved on the continent, which the UK generally seems to have avoided.

I know I only mentioned it was unusual to see Jordan as a source two weeks ago, but the country turned up again this week, this time in Tesco’s exotic vegetable range, with airfreighted okra at £1.19 for 175g.

But the find which really surprised me this week came from a local Aldi store, which is stocking 200g of sugar snaps from China for 99p as part of its mini vegetable selection, under the Merevale brand. So far, I have reported on apples, citrus and kiwifruit from China - but until now, never vegetables.

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