For many years now, the English top-fruit industry has been banging the drum for greater grower returns in order to justify the increased levels of investment necessary to continue innovating and producing larger volumes of fruit.

In recent times, growers from other horticultural sectors have also added their voices to these clarion calls - the UK cucumber industry being a notable example, as you will read in our feature on p16.

Of course, from the multiples’ point of view, there is a level of economic reality to take into consideration. While many consumers will happily claim to anyone who cares to listen that they favour home-grown product over imported, those claims often fly out the window when it all boils down to a question of one price ticket versus another.

This, of course, stems from the fact that consumers have now become accustomed to paying too little for their food - and any retailer daring to break the mould with prices that reflect the true cost of production would undoubtedly feel the backlash.

However, something has got to be done, and a joint industry approach across the supply chain is perhaps the only way to ensure growers receive the returns they truly deserve - and that government targets on increasing indigenous UK production are met.

The equation is a pretty simple one: greater returns = greater investment = more UK-grown fruit and vegetables. Why, then, have we yet to find a workable solution?