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Top-fruit sales have remained steady

New research claims to have found that eating an apple a day reduces the risk of dying early by 35 per cent. Researchers at the University of Western Australia found that women who ate more than 100g – or one small apple – a day were likely to have a longer life expectancy than those who ate less than 5g a day, or up to 15 apples a year. The study tracked 1,456 women aged 70 to 85 for 15 years. Timely reinforcement for the old adage that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’.

Top-fruit value and volume sales in the 52 weeks to 28 February 2016 remained relatively steady, and apples continue to make up the bulk of the category, accounting for 80.2 per cent of sales, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.

James Simpson, MD at top-fruit business Adrian Scripps, says that retailers including Tesco and the discounters in particular have done a “good job” of selling northern hemisphere and British fruit in recent months, but adds that there are English Gala and Braeburn apples that are yet to hit the market.

While he notes that Adrian Scripps has cleared its decks, Simpson suggests that a concern for those operating in the category going forward is when and how British growers in general can market everything they grow. This is a point that Rob Hull, of Farmcare, also raises: “You’ve got to make sure you have a market for all your fruit,maximising all the crop,” he tells FPJ.

This is more front of mind than ever for growers, now that the National Living Wage – paid to workers aged 25 and above, and initially set at £7.20 an hour, with a target of it reaching more than £9 an hour by 2020 – having come into effect on 1 April. Hull emphasises the need for those operating in the top-fruit category to make sure that their orchards and operations are as “efficient as possible”, to make themselves as Teflon-proof as possible to potentially costly ramifications.

A cold spell in late winter “held trees back”, according to Simpson, meaning that the English apple season is due to start later than last year, albeit more in line with a ‘normal’ apple season start date. Nevertheless, the Scripps boss is hopeful that good weather in the spring will result in a strong crop of English product, and dessert apples in particular. Simpson’s apples to watch in the next few months include Kanzi, Cameo and Red Prince, which he expects to have a solid sales period from April through to July.

And what of pears? With talk of the UK exiting the EU leaving uncertainty lingering over the future of British agriculture and the produce we have on our shelves, British-grown Conference pears only account for about six per cent of all pears sold in the UK.

Ross Goatham, a partner at top-fruit giant AC Goatham & Son, says: “This season has been tough on pears, but we are seeing growing support for British Conference pears from consumers, and this year will also see our British Conference pears available for the longest period yet.”

Goatham points to the investment his business has made in both storage technology and new plantings as being behind the extended season, allowing AC Goatham to offer British Conference Pears into June. Current hot topics are extensions of the British season, which is where the “big wins” potentially are, according to Goatham. He says: “The Dutch and Belgians have been running with an 11-12 month availability for many years now, and we here in the UK have mainly only had at best six months’ supply.

“This has mainly been due to lack of investment and poorer yields leading to increased production costs. However with the new planting systems we here at AC Goatham & Son are now doing, we are seeing comparable tonnages per hectare to the Dutch, so we are beginning to have the volume to allow the extended sales period and compete with EU imports. If the Dutch can do it, we can do it.”

The biggest obstacle to the continued growth of pear consumption is engaging with younger consumers, says Goatham. He explains: “We need to do far more ‘ripe and ready’ given that today’s younger consumers do not understand pears are not ready to eat if not ripened. Education about how to store and prepare them for eating will help too. Also, we need to be able to compete with the current EU imports on price. This is something we are beginning to be able to do with our new planting, but we need more investment to allow this to become a reality. But ultimately, make British Conference pears easier to eat, and people will try them and enjoy them.”