"Climate change is a huge challenge for us all,” said FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney. “The fresh produce industry has a good record of behaving responsibly in its relationships with its suppliers, its customers and the world in general. So we welcome the Stern report as a contribution to the debate… But it is clear that politicians are trying to create an atmosphere where [green] taxes would be acceptable to the general public.

“We will put the case against an additional tax burden on the fresh produce sector forcefully and coherently to government.”

The report’s publication has also been accompanied by a plethora of references in the national media to air-freighted fruit and vegetables. But the FPC has slammed this focus as “misleading” saying it does not contribute to an informed debate. “Air-freighted fresh produce makes up a very small proportion of the total fresh produce market - about 75 per cent of all food imports into EU-member states originate within Europe,” said Jenney. “Such products are often niche products of modest volumes. They are often transported on scheduled passenger airlines, and it could be argued that they contribute to greater transport efficiency.”

Indeed, economic pressures for efficiency in the supply chain are already driving the industry to reduce its environmental footprint. “There is an obligation on any company to cut out any unnecessary miles from it operations,” said Martin Dunnett of Capespan, one of the largest international fresh produce traders.

“But economic pressures are so intense that in just reacting to the requirements of the market we are balancing environmental issues.” Dunnett cited the example of the decline in air-freight for lines such as grapes from South Africa. “There are four Antonov aircraft sitting on the tarmac in Johannesburg that are rarely required anymore. There is no longer the need to air freight serious volumes.”

According to the Stern report, 14 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2000 were caused by transport. In comparison, deforestation is estimated to represent more than 18 per cent of global carbon emissions.

“Making a quick calculation from World Trade Organisation statistics for total global trade - valued at over $9 trillion (£4.7tr) - transportation of fresh produce to the European Union - approximate value $45 billion - would account for a tiny fraction of transportation emissions,” said Jenney.

But any uptake of cleaner transport technologies will depend on the speed of reaction that is required. FPC president Michael Velasco warned: “Over a 10 year period I would expect our industry to take such technology in its stride and in conjunction with its normal replacement strategy,” said Velasco.

Although the Stern report has come from the Treasury, Defra is the lead government department on climate change. “We are encouraging people to buy local food to support local, rural economies, but we are also part of a global market,” said a spokeswoman.

“While we put out messages to buy local, seasonal produce, it is a free market. Our own research showed last year that food miles are not a reliable indicator.

“The external costs associated with food transportation are significant, but the relationship between distance travelled and external costs is weak. As a result, the term food miles is actually rather misleading.

“We will be taking the climate change agenda forward, but we’re looking at food and the rural economy as well. That is one of the benefits of having such a large department.”

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