English apple growers are harvesting record crops of Gala, Braeburn, Jazz, Kanzi and Cameo this year, English Apples & Pears (EAP) revealed at the official launch of the season this week.
 
The 2008-09 English apple crop looks to be in relatively good shape, quality and volume-wise – but in this challenging economic climate, finding the right balance between retail prices and grower returns will prove crucial to the industry’s ability to re-invest in itself.

Despite scarce appearances from the sun over the summer and fairly damp conditions as harvesting began at the end of August, the English apple industry is relatively optimistic that this year’s crop will put in a good performance in terms of volume and eating quality.

Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears (EAP), estimates that volumes are probably about five per cent down on last year, as opposed to the 10 per cent fall forecast at international top-fruit trade event Prognosfruit, held in Kent at the start of August.

Gala and Braeburn – which now account for four out of every 10 dessert apples sold in the UK, according to Barlow – are in fine shape volume-wise.

“Gala will probably be a little bit larger in volume than forecast at Prognosfruit,” says Barlow. “Braeburn will also definitely be a little larger – probably around 11,000 tonnes, as opposed to the 9,000t forecast in August.”

Club varieties such as Jazz, Cameo, Kanzi and, for the first time this season, Rubens, are taking an increasingly larger share of the UK market and that trend is set to continue in 2008-09. Trials are also taking place on a Swiss cultivar called Junami.

So what has triggered the UK industry’s relatively recent spurt of investment into new varieties? Barlow explains: “One of the problems in the 1980s and 1990s was that the British industry didn’t invest in new varieties. We were behind the game plan with Gala because we didn’t get into it early enough. In the noughties, the growers started planting Gala, and we are now at the stage where we are almost self-sufficient in the variety during the UK season – that is tremendous. There has been significant support from the UK multiples towards this.”

Braeburn represents another massive import replacement opportunity, believes Barlow. “Braeburn is really a January to early May apple, maturing much later than Gala, whose season runs from September until March,” he says.

“When Braeburn first appeared in the UK, the researchers and technologists said we would not be able to grow it here, but by finding better clones and the right production sites, we can grow it with distinction. But you have got to find the right sites – it is not suitable everywhere.”

There is a tendency for growers to look towards the past and believe old varieties are the finest available, Barlow continues – but the new varieties breeders have created are easier to grow, produce greater volumes and have a better gradeout. “This gives a greater crop and can reduce production costs per kilo,” says Barlow. “It is very important that we test new varieties, but they must provide consumer satisfaction and give a point of difference. If it is not a good eating variety, then it is of no interest to the UK industry.”

Barlow feels the emergence of new club varieties is certainly a step in the right direction for the UK industry.

With new varieties coming to the fore, the English apple industry is once again expecting strong support from retailers and shoppers alike, and the supermarkets have strong programmes in place for 2008-09. “Consumer concerns about global warming have led to a huge upsurge in demand for local products – apples have been touched by this more than any other horticultural product,” stresses Barlow. “Consumers have a strong emotional attachment to English apples and the product has benefited from this.

“The multiples were quick to see this demand and have been very keen to work with the industry and develop new sales opportunities. Global warming concerns won’t go away and there will be greater increases in demand for local supply, so our position is good.”

But Barlow insists that strong partnerships between growers, retailers and marketing desks are essential to the future of the industry. “There must be a quid pro quo – if growers invest, they must be reasonably reassured that the retailers will pay the prices for the product and justify that spend. This is happening to an extent already, and we need to ensure it continues,” he says.

However, Barlow is adamant the apple industry must not be sucked into the price war plaguing other fresh produce categories. “There is a lot of competition in the high street at the moment. The established multiples are looking at the hard discounters and it is important that English apples are not caught up in a price war, so that returns do not fall to unacceptable levels. It is very important we don’t allow English apples to be involved in this.”

Many horticultural products have stayed at the same value for many years, says Barlow, so there is a mindset that it is hard to get prices up without consumers resisting the increase.

“Of course, the buyers will resist calls for price increases, but it is important our marketers are aware of the inflation in production costs. As an industry, we must get sufficient prices to justify further investment in the industry, in order to keep growers going.”

There has been a strong desire from the retailers over the last few years to sell English top fruit, agrees Sadler, but he believes this season will not be easy as others when it comes to retail opportunities. “The supermarkets are doing a lot of discounting and therefore things will be competitive. We have got to move the volumes of fruit, but also get good returns for growers – as well as offer consumers the right retail price.

“Growers’ costs have gone up and we know they need a higher return in order to re-invest into their businesses, but there is a fine balance between more money for them and the right retail cost for consumers. We have got to find a happy medium and the right price that enables us to move through the crop at the correct speed.”

Cost increases represent an enormous challenge for growers, with the prices of oil, energy, fuel, fertilisers and labour soaring. “These are all costs beyond our control and it is important there is an increase in returns to compensate them,” says Barlow.

Global warming is another hurdle for growers to leap over. “There has been a lot more water during the last two summers,” says Barlow. “Climate change is occurring and in the future we will need changes in varietal mix and better rootstocks to resist drought. We also need to look at the use of plant protection products and make sure the apple varieties grown in the UK have better natural defences.”

A distinct shortage of labour, caused by the well-documented restrictions on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), is also hampering growers, leading to fears in many cases that fruit could be left to rot on the trees without adequate numbers of workers to pick the crop.

“The results are as we feared,” says Barlow. “It has led to some growers being without labour and therefore getting behind in their picking – the danger is that, in due course, the crops will over-mature on the trees.

“A further concern with labour is that the workers who have come over this year have not been as productive as in previous years, and that reflects a trend we have seen in the past. When countries join the EU, workers are easy to recruit and the people who come are keen to work here. Then things improve in their own countries, their own aspirations get higher, and workers become harder to recruit.”

The quality of the labour supplied to growers this season has not been up to the standard of previous years, agrees Sadler, and that has made it very difficult to get the crop off the trees. “Growers are very concerned about this for the future. Most of the producers I have spoken to are disappointed in their labour force this season and are very frustrated. Five to six years ago, people from eastern Europe were hungry for work, but the economics in those regions have changed and now they have alternatives.”

Barlow adds: “We desperately need the government to reconsider SAWS, realise it is nothing to do with illegal immigration, and restore the scheme to how it was a year ago, so that we can recruit pickers from more countries.”

Growers are also increasingly concerned about the well-documented potential restriction of plant protection products, as part of proposals put forward by the EU to replace directive 91/414/EEC.

“Everybody understands the trend towards reducing pesticide usage and apple growers have been at the forefront of that, as they don’t want to spend money on expensive chemicals unless it is necessary,” says Barlow. “We aim for residues below the levels of detection.

“But the UK climate means apples are very vulnerable to attack from pests and diseases and we do need plant protection products. The current proposals are totally misguided, as no assessment of their economic impact has been undertaken. People are blithely suggesting that the chemical companies will come up with more products, but what if they don’t?

“All the products used on apples in the UK have been thoroughly tested and there is a huge safety margin of times 100 between the dose permitted and any effect the residue could have on mammals.

“It is very important that all the politicians in Europe are aware of this situation and the EU abandons this crazy route,” he adds.

EMR has done a lot of work to help growers reduce their pesticide usage, says Barlow. “It is fair to say the whole crop is marketed with very low residues and a considerable part of the crop has no detectable residues at all,” he says.

“UK growers are looking to differentiate themselves and they understand that pesticides are at the forefront of the British consumer’s mind. We want them to think of UK apples as ‘clean’ – either residue-free or with reduced residues.”

Barlow remains confident that English consumers will continue to support home-grown apples – despite the credit crunch. “We have always been lucky that consumers have a strong emotional attachment to English apples, and that they have a strong desire for excellence in terms of taste, which we can deliver with our climate,” he says. “Consumers recognise that we have a product with outstanding taste, and that tallies with their emotional ties and concerns about global warming. As far as I can see, demand for English apples will continue to be strong. There may be some adverse effects from the credit crunch, but they will be minor.”

He adds: “I am largely optimistic for this season, although it is just so important apples don’t get caught up in all this price competition – so there must be strong promotional activity. I hope that all decent fruit growers with decent crops will make a reasonable return.”

BRAMLEY GETS A BOOST

The Bramley crop is set to be 10 per cent larger than last year, according to Adrian Barlow, who heads up the Bramley Apple Campaign. However, production will still be insufficient to meet demand for the cooking apple – especially bearing in mind the massive amount of promotional activity expected around the fruit when it celebrates its bicentenary in 2009.

“We are hoping that the good weather in the last month has improved apple sizing to give a slight increase in volume,” says Barlow. “Demand for Bramley went up 16-17 per cent last season, which was astonishing. This uplift in sales is due to continue this winter.”

The fruit’s bicentenary will kick off in the first week of February during Bramley Apple Week, and in March a stained glass window will be unveiled at Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire, commemorating where the fruit was first grown in the country. A special anthem is being composed for the occasion and a whole series of further events will occur throughout the year.

“We are talking to a lot of different trade organisations to encourage as many as possible to arrange events to celebrate Bramley,” says Barlow.

The campaign will continue until the Lord Mayor’s Show in London in November, when a float will be sponsored in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers.

“This will all generate a massive amount of interest in Bramley – and that will impact on demand,” says Barlow.