I don’t know if it’s just the appearance of warmth and sunshine after the seemingly endless winter, or the fact that we have two long weekends back to back, but I detect a whiff of optimism in the air.

Take a look through our pages this week and you will see numerous good news stories of record crops, impressive sales figures and support for British produce from both suppliers and retailers. It all adds up to a promising start to the summer season.

Mack’s plan to invest further in the fruit sector (page 1) makes sense and is interesting in the context of the company wanting to boost its reputation as a supplier of UK food.

Fresca could hardly have done more to boost British production than its massive investment in Thanet Earth, of course, but it has to be good news when such a large player makes a statement of intent about increasing domestic production.

There’s no doubt the multiples are looking for it. Speak to any buyer and they will be at pains to point out the initiatives they are putting in place to buy more British, and that seems to be underscored by the rise in home-grown apple sales (p5).

English Apples & Pears chief Adrian Barlow has predicted that sales could increase by as much as 50 per cent if the supermarkets continue on the curve of supporting home supply, provided the returns justify the continued investment.

With royal wedding fever helping fresh produce sales, let’s hope this is the start of a strong season for the industry.