English Apples & Pears chief executive Adrian Barlow congratulated the multiples for their support of the industry this season - but warned that unsatisfactory returns for growers could result in retrenchment.
“At the start of the English season we need good promotions to get the momentum going,” he told FPJ. “But it is very important that once the momentum is there, prices are then returned to levels that will justify investments and ensure reasonable profitability.”
Support from the multiples this season has been “tremendous” so far, said Barlow. “Morrisons has achieved a huge increase in market share and that is due to careful planning and a programme for the whole of last season. It has driven up its share from eight to 13 per cent in one year, which is a fantastic performance.
“There has been great support from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s for many years now, and the latter has promoted English apples on TV this season, along with The Co-op, which has been excellent - we want to encourage that,” he said.
But Barlow is concerned that the rise of the hard discounters and growing competition in the marketplace will see growers struggle to achieve the returns they need this year. “The last four years have been terrific in terms of investment,” he said. “But there is a great danger this season that we will get into a descending circle of discounting, and over the season as a whole we will see returns to growers which will not justify future investment - and then there will be retrenchment.”
Partnerships between retailers, marketing desks and growers will prove essential in the current climate, stressed Barlow “There should be discussions between all of them about who will grub what and who will plant what to meet demand. It needs to be much more a case of what varieties do you want and what volumes - a partnership is needed in minimising costs and achieving returns that will satisfy the market.
“But there has to be a quid pro quo that retailers will give growers the returns they need to invest, otherwise that will be against everybody’s interests - including the retailers themselves,” warned Barlow.
No comments yet