The climatic problems of the summer are coming back to haunt Cox marketers.
Warm and wet weather at vital stages of production brought on a proliferation of large (80mm plus) fruit and to compound this, the crop in general is not exhibiting the keeping characteristics of a normal season.
Growers have therefore been looking to shift their fruit through to the market as quickly as possible, to avoid storage problems. “The industry is marketing a big Cox crop against the background of sizes that do not suit the UK consumer and a desire to sell the fruit more quickly than usual,” said Adrian Barlow of English Apples & Pears.
“As fruit has shown a tendency to deteriorate more rapidly, pressure has mounted and that has led to prices being pushed downwards.”
The industry would be reasonably happy at this stage of the season with a retail price point of £1.49, but Cox is on the shelves between £1.19 and £1.29, and even lower on promotion.
“Normally, keeping quality is one element that stands Cox out from other varieties, but for many growers that is not the case this season,” said Barlow. “I can understand that those growers who have escaped the problems and have a high quality crop being dismayed at the moment. But if they have product that will store well, then there is every chance of a recovery towards the end of January.”
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