Bramley apple production has received a boost through the success of Magners Irish cider, which is requiring more and more volume from Northern Ireland.
And it may even create the opportunity for the English industry to export, believes Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears.
Barlow was providing an update on the industry at the conference organised annually by Fourayes, the third generation and sole remaining English-owned apple processor and supplier, held in Kent. The Bramley processing sector has also felt the benefits of the growth of convenience meals, he said.
The fresh end of the market has remained static, absorbing around 25,000 tonnes annually, about a third of total production. Barlow said it is a tribute to the unique reputation and quality of the fruit that it has maintained its share, and predicted that there is still room for new plantings and expansion.
Around 70 per cent of fresh Bramley is sold by the multiples, although there is a wide variation in performance. Tesco and Sainsbury’s, with a 33.5 and 24.1 per cent share respectively, are way ahead of the field. Morrisons weighs in with 11.3 per cent, while Asda under-indexes massively with just eight per cent of sales. Waitrose sells 7.6 per cent of the crop, the Co-op 7.4 per cent, and Somerfield 5.2 per cent.
