In trading terms, it is normally a question of wait and see at this time of the year, what with the festive season looming ahead. However I must admit I saw my first load of neatly netted Christmas trees being trucked along the motorway last week.

Perhaps these growers know something the rest of us have yet to discover, or is the High Street yet again about to break out in a rash of lights and mistletoe before December has even decently dawned?

While we all wait and see, there are other aspects worth considering although their time frame is far more blurred.

For example, a month has now passed since the clarion call from the Fresh Produce Consortium to rejuvenate the industry with fresh action on promotion.

Questions are already being asked among the trade as to when the promised campaign information will be forthcoming, not just concerning details of the committed contributors, but how financially strong is the support?

Then there is the question of whether, through the pressure applied by the Association of Convenience Stores, there will be a full enquiry by the Competition Commission into the practices adopted in the grocery retail trade. I have a feeling that if, and when, this does take place, hard evidence may still prove elusive for investigators. While on opposite sides of the fence, both suppliers and retailers are loath to reveal details for respective fears it may damage relationships, or give away those closely guarded retail secrets.

Smaller convenience operators, even if they are following the pattern of greengrocers and dwindling in number, at least seem to have realised that, if handled professionally, selling fresh fruit and vegetables can lead to increased profits and allow them to compete more effectively with the multiple menace.

History has indicated that because the issues of seasonality and wastage render fresh produce far more complex and risky than selling dried and tinned groceries, these retailers have largely ignored the opportunities the fresh offer can bring.

Meanwhile as the season is changing, even if remarkably similar to last year, the leaves are still hanging on the trees.

English brassicas are maturing faster than growers would like to see as crops race ahead, and forced rhubarb growers may already be in despair over the lack of cold units needed to bring on the crop. And for the third time this week I have seen or heard retail pundits expecting the High Street to become more competitive than ever over the forthcoming holiday period.

So doubtless there will be a fresh crop of examples of importers and distributors stretched to the limit, stressed over the effect of price cutting and special offers. These will be much discussed within the industry but probably never become public.

In fact everything, for better or worse, depending on which side of the counter you stand, may turn out, yet again, to be the same old story.

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