This increase in Pink Lady movement is similar to the year on year increase a year ago of 55 per cent. And Gordon Winterbottom of Corego, which manages Pink Lady promotion in the UK, forecasts that a total of 1.5million cartons will be marketed for calendar year 2002 compared to 1m cartons in 2001. 'The percentage increase so far this season therefore seems to be in line with that,' he said.

Northern hemisphere Pink Lady, which is sourced from France and the US, is expected to be available until early April. 'It is likely that northern hemisphere supplies will finish early and we may therefore have a gap at the end of April before South Africa starts in May,' said Winterbottom. 'There certainly won't be an overlap of fruit.' The gap in supply is largely because demand for the apple is outstripping supply. As a result Pink Lady availability in the UK runs to about 48 weeks of the year.

South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Chile provide southern hemisphere supplies with fruit from South Africa first to arrive in the UK, although harvesting in the four countries is more or less simultaneous. 'Australia seems to have better control and management of CA stocks and so continues later than the others in September,' Winterbottom said.

More new plantings of Pink Lady are entering commercial bearing every year, but Winterbottom is confident that demand in the UK will not be swamped by increased production. 'There is not a problem in creating demand for the product,' he said. 'Our research shows that once consumers try it, two-thirds of them become regular purchasers. And 1.5million cartons is still a tiny quantity representing just 4.5 per cent of the UK apple market in value terms, so there is still the potential for volumes to grow considerably.'

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