Cox is now the third-largest apple variety by volume in the UK after a 58 per cent rise in sales volumes during the last year, figures from Kantar show.
The data, for the 52 weeks to 9 November, said that Pink Lady and Braeburn are also in growth, but Royal Gala, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious are among the top apple varieties that are declining in volume.
The news comes as top fruit growers face lower returns than previous seasons, following a bumper European crop and the ongoing impact of the Russian imports ban.
Apple grower Ali Capper said consumer trends are likely to be lost in such a difficult year as 2014.
“Gala is still the number one eating apple. Consumers want sweet, red-skinned apples, so red dessert apples are still the peak of the market,” she said. “But in general this is not a year to see consumer trends, among all the other market pressures.”
Chief executive of English Apples & Pears, Adrian Barlow, stressed that a rise in volumes doesn't necessarily mean a rise in cox consumption.
And he said it would be a mistake to assume there will be another growing season as difficult as this one.“We are unlikely to have as good weather as this year, which means the European crop might be smaller, and the Russian ban is expected to only last a year,” he said.
For full top fruit market analysis see next week’s issue of FPJ, out 12 December.
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