Supermarkets are reporting strong Christmas trading across most fresh produce lines and fears of shortage or over-stocking have largely not been realised.
" Sales on vegetables alone were up year on year by double-digit percentage figures on all lines," said Asda vegetable and potato buyer Glin Hughes. "There was a bit of a fear factor right at the start of November because of the hot summer. The Spanish had a dry season too so broccoli for example was not as big as it should have been. And in the UK there were problems with aphid on sprouts and we thought we might have to import from the Netherlands. But by December 1, the weather was almost perfect and in terms of availability and quality, we had our best Christmas ever."
Hughes reported that at Asda there were no problems with over-stocking. "We got our fingers burned in 2002," said Hughes. But this time we virtually sold out of everything from 12pm to 4pm on Christmas Eve which was great for profitability and in terms of wastage."
Tesco reported record Christmas internet sales with food sales up by 30 per cent. But the store's trading statement will not be released until next week. However, the fresh produce department told freshinfo that in the five-week period before Christmas, the store sold 10,000 tonnes of soft citrus, 1,800 tonnes of carrots, 3,800t of Brussels sprouts, 32,000t of potatoes and 400t of chestnuts.
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