Leading topfruit grower AC Goatham has left trade body English Apples & Pears (EAP) with director Ross Goatham resigning as a board member with immediate effect.
Goatham said the decision was made after a “lengthy review” about what is right for the business, and said the direct relationship it has with its retail customers is “different to the rest of the industry”.
The decision by one of the industry’s biggest growers will significantly reduce the total annual budget of EAP, with one source estimating that Goatham, in common with other large growers, contributed approximately 20 per cent to a total budget of around £500,000.
“We have taken the decision to end our membership of English Apples and Pears and I have resigned as a board member with immediate effect,” said Goatham. “We wish all the members and the board well for the future and thank them for their support.”
New chief executive of EAP, Steven Munday, told FPJ he was “disappointed”, but “there is no animosity”. “I am focused on the future, and I would like to see a collegiate approach. I want to understand the views of the growers and other stakeholders,” he said.
“If change is needed, that’s where we’ll go. I think it’s a good time to take stock and ask, where do we want to go in the future?”
Munday said there is a 'clear and overriding desire” by all to have a unified topfruit industry, and he will work to engage both small and large growers to achieve this. But the source warned that “if one grower goes, it could be a house of cards effect”.
Goatham went on to say that one of the greatest challenges facing the industry is seasonal labour supply, but said that investment into orchards will see yields and quality continue to improve.
“We believe British top fruit growers are in a strong position and we are working with our customers to ensure shoppers continue to buy British produce. Our harvest this year has produced an excellent quality crop and yields are improving,” he added.
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