It has been all eyes on the skies this week, as the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland continued to erupt and ash threw aviation into chaos like never before.

The fresh produce sector, in particular, relies on this fast and efficient mode of transport to import and export high-value fruit and vegetables with a short shelf life.

But the unprecedented airspace ban has meant that fresh produce players have had to pull out all the stops to get high-margin, highly perishable fruit and vegetables from field to fork. As FPJ went to press, the airlines were working frantically to get flight schedules back on track, but it is feared that the backlog of flights could hit various lucrative early-season lines.

And the industry is already counting its losses, with the Kenyan horticulture trade alone estimating that it has so far haemorrhaged at least $12 million (£7.8m).

But controversially, there could be some quiet benefits in the long term, once the ash and the hold-ups have cleared. The fresh produce aisles have not been left empty and this has perhaps gone some way to demonstrating that contrary to popular perception, the vast majority of fresh produce is not flown into the country but is instead brought in by sea, at a lower cost both to the consumer and the environment.

This issue has come under the spotlight just weeks before the UK fresh produce industry will come together at Re:fresh in London to debate home-grown versus imported fruit and vegetables.