Someone I know well likes to say that “confused people cause confusion”, a truism that sprang to mind this week on hearing the English apple industry’s approach to heralding their new crop.

It is one thing to point out within trade circles that merchandising efforts are failing to push English fruit far enough into the limelight. But telling consumers across the land they are being confused into buying the wrong products by the supermarkets could be a double-edged sword.

Confusion exists - and growers worldwide who want to see their products flogged mercilessly on-shelf to the paying public would agree that they are often short-changed in that respect.

Supermarkets can be confusing places. That applies to aspects from the often incomprehensible labelling of products to the wildly differing levels of product knowledge held by staff in the produce department.

Of course, it’s the retailer’s problem to sort those issues out, on many levels. But while they are actually very supportive in general of home-grown fruit, begin to talk about their own in-store deficiencies and the shutters come down.

The next step on from confused is perplexed - English Apples & Pears cannot dramatically change the in-store situation. It also won’t be there to deal with the angry-shopper brigade, which we surely would want to be happily buying more fruit, whatever the origin.