Record British apple sales as retailer of the year race enters final stretch

Nine months into the current British apple season, UK supermarkets have bought a record volume of British apples from growers, with the race for BAPL Retailer of the Year entering its final stretch.

British Apples & Pears (BAPL), which represents UK growers, collates monthly data on purchases of British apples and pears by UK retailers. Analysis of the first nine months of the 2025/26 season (September 2025 to May 2026 inclusive) shows total British apple sales have reached 138,823 tonnes – the highest level for the same period in the last four seasons.

Sales are running 6,491 tonnes ahead of last year, an increase of almost five per cent, highlighting continued strong demand for British-grown fruit.

At the top of the retailer league table, Tesco currently leads the race to be the UK’s biggest purchaser of British apples, buying 29,186 tonnes between September and May. Aldi remains in second place on 27,171 tonnes, while Lidl has continued its impressive growth, reaching 24,421 tonnes and narrowing the gap to Aldi significantly. Sainsbury’s also remains one of the UK’s largest supporters of British apples, purchasing 19,885 tonnes during the first nine months of the season.

Lidl has delivered the strongest year-on-year growth of any retailer, increasing purchases by 3,834 tonnes compared with the same period last year. Aldi has also increased purchases by 1,094 tonnes, while Asda has continued its strong upward trajectory, increasing purchases by a further 1,628 tonnes year on year to 12,828 tonnes.

Morrisons has increased purchases by 710 tonnes, while Co-op has reversed last year’s decline, increasing purchases by more than 500 tonnes compared with the same period last season.

An additional BAPL award will this year recognise retailers that outperform their grocery market share in supporting British apples.

On that measure, Lidl and Aldi continue to lead the way. Lidl has purchased 17.6 per cent of all British apples sold by BAPL growers, despite accounting for just 8.6 per cent of the grocery market. Aldi has bought 19.6 per cent of British apples while holding a grocery market share of 10.8 per cent.

Ali Capper, executive chair of BAPL, said: “The really encouraging story is that British apple sales are at record levels. Growers have worked incredibly hard to produce a high-quality crop and retailers have responded by increasing their support for British fruit.

“Tesco currently leads the race to be the UK’s biggest purchaser of British apples, but when we look at support relative to retailer size, Lidl and Aldi are in a league of their own. Lidl is purchasing British apples at more than twice the level that would be expected from its grocery market share, while Aldi is buying British apples at around 80 per cent above its fair share.

“Lidl deserves particular recognition for delivering the largest increase in purchases this season, while Aldi and Sainsbury’s continue to be among the UK’s biggest supporters of British growers.

“It is also encouraging to see strong year-on-year growth from Asda, Morrisons and Co-op, demonstrating that support for British apples is increasing across a broad range of retailers. The competition for both the volume and market share awards will be fascinating to watch over the final months of the season.”

She added: “The purpose of publishing this data is not simply to create a league table. It is to celebrate those retailers backing British growers and encourage others to do more. British shoppers consistently tell us they want to buy British fruit when it is available.

“With three months of the season remaining and separate awards recognising both overall purchases and market share performance, there is still everything to play for.”

This year’s BAPL Retailer Awards will recognise both the retailers purchasing the largest volumes of British apples and pears and those delivering the strongest performance relative to their grocery market share.

Monthly sales data will continue to be published here throughout the remainder of the season.

British apple sales from BAPL growers to UK supermarkets (September 2025 to May 2026 inclusive)

Retailer support for British apples relative to grocery market share