The freshinfo poll this week asks whether English apple growers are alone in ignoring the potential for wholesale market sales. I don’t think they are.

But that does not alter the fact the UK’s markets have been conspicuously short of English apples for a number of years, as the industry eagerly pursued the higher volume retail channel at the expense of a previously rich sales seam.

In the meantime, the French have led the way in exploiting the still vast wholesale customer network by consistently improving their offer to suit the needs of the sector. With various sources following suit, the capacity for English apples has dwindled.

The wholesale companies are not completely exonerated of course - they had no divine right to sell English apples. While one trader recently moaned he had not seen an English grower in a wholesale market for years, equally it is the case that the orchards are not swarming with market representatives looking to do business.

The issue is symptomatic of the direction of an era, rather than a deliberate snub of the old stamping grounds by English growers. It is good, at least, to see the stand-off recognised - whether there is either a will or a way to reverse the trend remains to be proven.