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Labour MPs Urge Water Rule Overhaul As Drought Threatens UK Harvests
Labour MPs are pressing Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Government to relax water and planning restrictions to help farmers and growers cope with one of the most damaging droughts in decades. In a letter to Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, the MPs called for greater flexibility over water abstraction licences, a faster planning process for farm reservoirs and targeted financial support for agricultural businesses repeatedly affected by drought. The intervention comes as
A Hotter Britain Is Rewriting the Menu: How Hospitality Can Turn Rising Temperatures into Fresh Growth
Hotter, sunnier conditions are changing when, where and what Britons want to eat and drink. For hospitality operators prepared to rethink their menus, terraces and supply chains, fresh produce could become one of the sector’s strongest engines of growth. Britain’s weather has always been an unreliable business partner. Increasingly, however, higher temperatures are becoming too persistent to be treated as an occasional summer bonus. The Met Office says 2025 was both the UK’s
CMA Moves to Bring Aldi and Lidl Under Major Supermarket Land Rules
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally ruled that Aldi and Lidl should now be classified as Large Grocery Retailers, a decision that would bring both discounters under the same land-use restrictions already governing Britain's biggest supermarket chains. The finding would extend the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010 to Aldi and Lidl for the first time. The order was designed to stop major grocers from using restrictive covenant
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Sarah-Jayne Gratton
Lidl Scales Up Food Rescue Partnership to Nearly 200 Stores
Lidl GB is expanding its food waste redistribution partnership with giving platform Neighbourly and food-sharing app Olio, growing the scheme from an initial 20 stores to almost 200 across the UK. Under the partnership, when local charities are unable to make late-evening collections, Olio's network of volunteer "Food Waste Heroes" step in instead, picking up surplus fresh produce, meat and bakery items before stores close for the day. Rather than going to waste, that food is
Fyffes builds UK appeal as banana brand awareness reaches 79%
New Kantar research shows strong consumer recognition for Fyffes across both the banana and pineapple categories, following continued investment in contemporary brand marketing. Fyffes has strengthened its position among UK shoppers, with new Kantar research showing aided brand awareness for its bananas has reached 79%. The study, released by the fresh produce group, also found that 76% of UK consumers would consider choosing Fyffes the next time they buy bananas. Recognition
Britain’s Biggest Retailers Demand New Law to Protect Food Security
More than 100 organisations, including some of Britain’s largest supermarkets, have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill that would place food security, public health and the resilience of the country’s food system on a statutory footing. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Co-op, Waitrose and Booths are among the signatories, collectively representing more than 64 per cent of the grocery market, according to the campaign. They have been joined by manufacture
Hospitality Jobs Squeeze Deepens as Britain Matches Financial Crisis Slump
Britain’s services sector has recorded its longest sustained period of job losses since the global financial crisis, intensifying concern about the mounting cost pressures facing employers across the fresh produce supply chain. The latest S&P Global UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index showed that employment fell for the 22nd consecutive month in July. That matches the length of the downturn recorded during the financial crisis almost two decades ago, although the pace of w
AI Takes on Hidden Crop Threats in UK Onion and Brassica Fields
A new grower-led project is turning to artificial intelligence and smart trapping technology to help British onion and brassica producers detect damaging pests before they take a costly bite out of yields. TRACER-Pest will combine field-based cameras, machine learning and real-time data analysis to identify and track bean seed fly and swede midge — two pests capable of causing significant commercial losses but notoriously difficult to monitor using conventional methods. The t
Gatwick’s Second Runway Cleared for Take-off – and Fresh Produce Trade Could Gain Too
A £2.2 billion expansion of London Gatwick has cleared its final legal hurdle, opening the way for thousands of additional flights and potentially strengthening a vital gateway for Britain’s time-sensitive fresh produce and flower imports. The Court of Appeal has refused permission for two campaign groups to challenge the Government’s approval of Gatwick’s Northern Runway Project. The decision brings an eight-year planning and legal process to an end and allows the airport to
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