As someone who wants to eat and support fresh produce regardless of its origin, I salute the decision of the soft-fruit industry to link its winter and summer promotional efforts.

It might fly in the face of the ‘British is Best’ campaigns that we see out there. There are many historical and political barriers to overcome before the world unites to promote its wares as one, obviously. And for that reason and others, British-based campaigns have merit.

But, as a general rule, I believe there is far more to be gained by the industry if global supply sources can pool resources to push cross-category messages.

Of course, it is good to have a thriving British produce sector, but what do consumers do when faced with imported product out of season, particularly if it has been decried as second rate throughout the domestic campaign? They buy less fruit.

The berry industry has already seen exponential uplift in the winter months since it began its Winter Berries effort. Seasons and provenance, which inspire thoughts of freshness and passion, are the most positive messages that campaigns can put across. By their very nature, ‘national’ campaigns tend to encourage people to stay away from non-indigenous, competing fruit.

As we all know, we cannot produce all the food we need here - so why tell Joe Public that everything else they eat is a poor substitute?

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