Low retail prices this season, compounded by a combination of the lack of sunshine and the multiple price war, have created a scenario that most tomato growers would like to forget.

Added to the obvious problems, fuel and labour costs are continuing to rise, said Tomato Growers Association chairman Gerry Hayman at the TGA's annual conference last week.

In most instances, factors and figures are hard to come by, but in a paper delivered by Tristan Kitchener, Sainsbury's tomato buyer, key sub-categories such as round and cherry tomatoes have experienced significant price deflation compared with last year.

"For the majority of the summer deflation in these areas has run at 20-25 per cent, and currently it is in region of 40 per cent," said Kitchener. "This week last year loose tomatoes were retailing at £1.79 kg and this year it is 99p."

That bare facts underline a painful period for growers and retailers alike. "With product in over supply, not only do prices suffer but stocks inevitably build and quality deteriorates causing customer dissatisfaction and a lack of a repeat purchase," Kitchener said.

Against an admittedly sober background, Hayman told delegates: "British tomatoes are the best in the world." But an earlier assertion from Robert Hale of Longdon Hill Nurseries put this bald statement into perspective. he said that 80 per cent of people could care less where the fruit came from.

Sainsbury's apparently thinks the same way as Hayman, and is already planning to work more closely with the TGA next year with a series of special promotional activities.

Kitchener revealed that the proportion of summer tomato sales at Sainsbury's accounted for by British product had risen from 50 to 65 per cent compared with last year. One of its suppliers FreshLink Marketing, a five-strong growers group set up last year, "has exceeded our expectations," he said.

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