The new year is off to a positive start for the fresh produce sector, according to industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing.
In a new report it said 69 per cent of companies throughout the industry have seen their values increase in the last 12 months, some by as much as 50 per cent.
David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, said: “Having valued many companies in the UK fresh produce industry in the last two years, I am amazed that, despite poor margins and low growth being commonplace, so many of them have managed to increase in value.
“While 10 per cent of companies saw no change, only 21 per cent of the industry suffered a fall in value.”
Pattison said the key to success is getting the basics right: “In 2004, many companies in the industry focused solely on increasing sales at all costs.
“Ironically it is the companies that chose instead to focus on improving their internal structures that have increased in value the most.”