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Fresh Produce Value Takes Centre Stage As Retail Growth Slows
New retail figures show subdued spending growth despite improving consumer confidence, as M&S cuts organic fruit and vegetable prices. Britain’s food retailers are navigating an uneven consumer recovery, with new figures showing modest sales growth as households weigh grocery spending against mounting financial pressures. The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, published on 8 September, showed total UK retail sales increased by 0.7 per cent year on year in August. Food sales rose
British Carrot Harvest Faces 30% Yield Hit After Punishing Dry Season
Repeated heatwaves, irrigation restrictions and soaring production costs have left UK carrot growers facing one of their most difficult seasons. British carrot growers are braced for yield losses of between 15 and 30 per cent following an exceptionally hot and dry growing season. The British Carrot Growers Association said early heatwaves in May and June created severe establishment problems, killing newly germinated carrots in some areas and forcing producers to re-drill fie
M&S Targets Organic Growth With £4m Price-Cutting Drive
Retailer lowers prices across more than 50 organic products as it seeks to make the category more accessible and capture a larger share of the growing market. Marks & Spencer is investing more than £4 million to reduce prices across its organic range, including a broad selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. More than 50 organic products are included in the initiative, with organic garlic now starting at 70p and a bag of organic carrots priced at 90p. Among the fresh produce
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Cold Chain Risks Put Fresh Produce In The Spotlight
The infrastructure keeping Britain’s fruit and vegetables fresh has emerged as a potential weak point in the food supply chain, with a new National Audit Office report warning of gaps in the Government’s understanding of the cold chain. The findings are particularly significant for fresh produce businesses, which depend on an uninterrupted network of temperature-controlled storage, refrigerated transport, energy supplies and skilled workers to move perishable products from gr
Thames Ports Overtake Felixstowe In Container Traffic Shake-Up
London Gateway and Tilbury have jointly handled more containers than Felixstowe, marking a significant shift in the balance of Britain’s port activity and potentially reshaping routes used by fresh produce importers. The Thames estuary has overtaken Felixstowe as Britain’s busiest location for container port operations, according to new figures reported by The Times. London Gateway and the neighbouring Port of Tilbury handled a combined 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent unit
Growers Take Water Security Campaign To House Of Lords
Fresh produce leaders will urge policymakers to place food production at the heart of future water planning as drought conditions increase pressure on British growers. Representatives from across the UK fresh produce supply chain are preparing to take their campaign for greater water resilience to the House of Lords. Growers, Morrisons and Harper Adams University will present their recommendations to parliamentarians and industry stakeholders at an event on 17 November, hoste
Supersized El Niño Threatens UK Food Imports Worth £1.7bn
A strengthening El Niño could add further pressure to the UK fruit and vegetable supply chain, as experts warn that up to a quarter of the country’s food imports worth £17 billion are “in the line of fire” this year, as well as domestic production. Some 86% of the UK’s fruit is imported, including a significant proportion from South America and Africa – nations that are expected to experience some of the strongest impacts from the developing El Niño, according to the Energy
Gene-Edited Strawberries And Tomatoes Move Closer To UK Shelves
Precision-bred crops including longer-lasting strawberries and vitamin D-enriched tomatoes are moving towards commercialisation in England, marking another step in the UK’s post-Brexit approach to gene editing. Image: The John Innes Centre The two gene-edited fruit crops are approaching the final regulatory stage required before they can be sold to consumers in England, reports The Telegraph. The developments involve eight strawberry varieties that have been genetically edite
Sainsbury’s Invests In Healthy School Food, Half-Price Lunch Box Essentials
Sainsbury’s is investing more than £1.5 million in initiatives to improve children’s access to nutritious food, while also cutting the price of selected fruits and vegetables for families returning to school and work routines. Through its partnership with Comic Relief, the retailer is providing £1 million to food insecurity charities Magic Breakfast and Rethink Food, with each receiving £500,000, reports Grocery Trader. Magic Breakfast will use the funding to expand its free
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