EAP ‘needs lobbyist’ at the helm

The next chief executive of English apples and Pears needs to be a lobbyist to help the sector secure access to sufficient seasonal labour, Steven Munday has told FPJ.

Speaking at an annual event to celebrate the British topfruit season, the outgoing CEO said he was no longer the right person for the job and stressed that bringing pressure to bear on politicians should now be the main priority for the trade body.

Munday resigned in August and will stay on until the end of the year but EAP’s chairman Phil Acock offered no hint as to who his replacement would be.

With Brexit negotiations in full swing, and the government still unwilling to give any concrete assurances to the industry on labour access, Munday said EAP was in a different position to when he took over in June 2016.

During his short tenure Munday’s focus has been on creating a new 'British' identityfor the trade body’s marketing activities and designing a new logo.

“What EAP needs now is a lobbyist,” he told FPJ. “We’re now in a situation where we’re focussing on the future, and the organisation needs a person with a different type of interest.

“It now needs a lobbyist to ensure we get the right government support for the industry. Lobbying is not necessarily my great interest. I have other things I’d like to do with my time.”

Munday has faced criticism from sections of the topfruit industry for some of the changes he has made in shifting the focus of EAP’s marketing activities from ‘English to ‘British’.

But he dismissed the suggestion that his relationship with growers was part of the reason why he will be leaving the trade body in January.

“I’ve got no issue with anybody at all but I think we’ve reached a logical point to change,” he said.

“A lot has happened in the past year – a lot of people have seen the changes we’ve made first hand and some are more comfortable with them than others.

“I like to work quite quickly and there are people in this industry who don’t like to work quite so quickly. But the board now gets ‘British’ completely, and so do the retailers – they always have.”