A record English Braeburn apple crop has been championed as a major step forward in the fight to replace imports.
The apple crop is set to reach 18,000 tonnes, up 220 per cent on last year, following a major increase in plantings in the last five years.
Small volumes of the fruit will be available in December but the season will kick off properly in January, when there will be an industry-wide secondary launch of the English apple season, with Braeburn joining Cameo, Jazz, Kanzi and Rubens on the shelves.
Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears, told freshinfo: “This is a terrific opportunity for import replacement. The quality looks like it will be very good. We were concerned with the droughts in east and north Kent from July to September, but some rain from September onwards has helped.
“The season will last until May and we have to be realistic and not fall into the trap that the season can last as long as Gala, because Braeburn takes a long time to grow and needs longer in store.”
Barlow said growers were expecting good returns post-Christmas after an overhang of southern hemisphere product, and an unusually large amount of last year’s northern hemisphere crop put pressure on early-season prices.
He said: “Prices look like they will improve after Christmas and I think there has been a wider recognition that growers won’t be able to justify investment without good returns.
“It does mean that prices will have to go up in the long term but it needs to be in a controlled and phased manner.”
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