It’s good to hear M&S come out in support of UK top fruit this season, insisting that it will only be stocking English Gala and Braeburn this year.

Support from the retailers for English top fruit in particular has been significantly increasing in the last couple of years, and though there have been some exceptions the message seems to have hit home.

It is still fairly debatable how much consumers actually think about carbon footprints when they are standing in the shopping aisles, but one thing is for sure, the biggest retailers do their research, and if they believe that an all-English crop is the way to go then it is because they feel that they can sell it. That can only be great news for UK growers.

One concern, though, surrounds whether there is a large enough crop to meet this demand, with hail damage having dented the overall tonnage.

It would be a massive disappointment to say the least if this year’s bad weather means that the shortfall has to be made up with imported produce.

• Commercial Grower will be at this year’s Four Oaks show on stand D127, so please do stop by for a chat on your way around. We look forward to seeing you there.

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