'Our shareholders say that they will pay if everyone pays, but we still have one shareholder who wishes to withdraw so I can make no promises for the future,' warned Pooley. 'The industry needs our generic promotions, our pr activities, our retail surveillance, our maturity monitoring, and with due respect to our customers, you need them too. So anything you can do to influence growers to keep on keeping on will be appreciated.' Pooley also thanked retailers and marketing groups for their efforts last season in marketing the record Cox crop but pointed out that prices for growers were a disaster as returns on the variety which makes up more than 60 per cent of the dessert apple crop, came in below the cost of production.

Chief executive Adrian Barlow spoke of the tragedy of orchards being grubbed with acreage having fallen this season by eight per cent. 'We can produce a crop with a great flavour and because of that, the majority of UK consumers want to buy English apples because of their taste,' said Barlow. 'But unless growers get returns that are good enough to make a living they will be vulnerable.'