Most British supermarkets ‘purchasing more domestic topfruit’

Seven out of 10 leading supermarkets have increased the volume of British topfruit they buy compared to last year, new analysis indicates.

Trade body British Apples & Pears (BAPL) has been monitoring which supermarkets have surpassed last year’s performance and which are lagging behind when it comes to supporting domestic growers.

The latest analysis, which takes in the first six months of the season, shows that the top performers were Sainsbury’s – which bought 2,737 more tonnes of British topfruit from BAPL growers than the previous year – and Lidl, which bought 2,597t more.

Tesco has fallen slightly behind its 2022/23 performance, buying 714 tonnes fewer British apples and pears in the first six months of the season. However, BAPL noted that the supermarket was hampered by a slow start in October and is now catching up with the other top performers.

The biggest underperformer was Morrisons, buying 2,613 fewer tonnes between October and March 2023/24, compared to the same period in 2022/23.

Overall, Aldi is top of the table, with 21,527 tonnes of British crop bought in the first six months of the season. That puts it slightly ahead of Tesco on 21,194t, with Sainsbury’s in third and Lidl fourth.

The only other supermarket to have reduced the volume it bought was Iceland.

“Things are getting very tight at the top of the league table this year,” said executive chair of BAPL, Ali Capper. “Aldi is currently beating Tesco, but only by 333 tonnes. Sainsbury’s and Lidl are both closing the gap on the top two. It’s going to be fascinating to see how the rest of the year turns out.

“We’re delighted that most supermarkets are buying more British apples and pears than they were this time last year. We know that’s what consumers want, and we welcome the recent moves by some supermarkets to make it easier for online shoppers to choose British. That’s another great step towards making buying British as easy as possible.”