Norman Collett has invested in a new packhouse and storage facility and is opening up a new distribution centre in Paddock Wood - 40,000 square feet of office expansion in order to satisfy consumer demand. The company is also investing its time in advising and overseeing growers through the replanting of varieties such as Cox, Braeburn, Gala and Cameo, ensuring there is a steady supply of young trees to replace the aging orchards in the system.
“In the longer term we will be looking at new varieties that are able to give us something early as dessert fruit and then also give us something late,” says Sadler.
Trials with SmartFresh, an innovative product that works to enhance the storage of product and also to take cost out of the process, have also been undertaken this year. “We are carrying out trials with SmartFresh for Discovery. We took the first pick from the first week in August and we will also be trialling other varieties this season such as Bramley, Gala, and Cox, and adding Cameo. So far it has proved a useful tool in controlling the quality of the fruit.
“Last year we were asked if we could keep English Gala late because French product had quality problems and with the aid of SmartFresh we were able to serve Gala to the supermarkets in March with pressures that were the same as the first day they were picked.”
It is still relatively early days for this season’s UK apple crop. Discovery has been and gone and supplies of Worcester and Windsor are fully on stream, preceding Cox and the peak volume time.
Bramleys are a concern in most seasons, but not so in 2004 - to date. “There is a mangeable crop of Bramley this year,” says Norman Collett’s managing director Andy Sadler. “Last year the retailers didn’t get the apple volumes they wanted but this season there haven’t been the same problems so we should be able to satisfy the market better.”
Cox volumes won’t be as high as last year, Sadler adds: “Most growers had an extremely full crop last year so now many of the trees have simply not bourne as much fruit. I estimate there will be a 15 per cent reduction on last year. Gala is a similar story, and for the same reason - last year there was an abnormally large crop.”
The wet weather of recent weeks has taken its toll on the harvest, causing fruit to swell. “Product will be slightly on the larger size this year. The UK prefers anything from 60-80mm on dessert varieties but product will be a lot larger now. We will have to talk to our customers to see if we can accommodate that. Overall, volumes will be good - at least enough to satisfy and there won’t be a huge surplus - so everything will be marketable.”
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