Home > Press releases > 2001
16 Nov 2001
A major survey of supermarkets by Friends of the Earth (FOE) reveals today that most UK supermarkets source the majority of their apples and pears from abroad - despite a bumper British apple harvest this year. FOE's survey, conducted in late October-early November,involved more than 130 stores.
Waitrose was the only supermarket sourcing more of its fruit from the UK than from abroad,with 71% of the lines of apples and pears on sale home-grown [see table below]. Waitrose stores were taking part in a British fruit festival during the survey, but other retailers also promoting British fruit had far less on the shelves. This is despite recent media claims by Sainsburys and Tesco that they are committed to sourcing English fruit [1]. Tesco and Safeway came bottom of the FOE league table, with three quarters of Safeway's apples and pears imported. British growers are now being forced to sell good quality British apples at below production cost for juicing [2]
Even less organic fruit was grown in the UK, the survey found. Asda, M&S and Safeway did not stock any British organic apples, while half of Tesco's organic apples came from outside the EU. Very few organic pears were available [3].
The survey revealed that choice is severely restricted by supermarkets. Waitrose
stocked the widest selection of apples, with an average 9-10 varieties
of non-organic apple, compared to 6-7 in Co-op, M&S, Somerfield
and Tesco stores. Only 2 - 5 varieties of pears were available. There
are around 6,000 varieties of apple and over 500 varieties of pear.
Such limited use of British-grown fruit means many local varieties are
being lost - and around half of UK apple and pear orchards have been
grubbed up since 1970. Local varieties can be more resistant to pests
and disease and so require less pesticides. Importing fruit also contributes
to pollution and climate change.
FOE warned that supermarkets are putting the livelihoods of British growers at risk - at a time when many small farmers and producers are already struggling. FOE is calling for Government action to support local orchards and better funding for British fruit growers wishing to convert to organic, so that shoppers have the opportunity to buy local affordable food [4].
Sandra Bell, Real Food Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
“Many UK apples varieties are in danger of disappearing except
in museum-like collections. Supermarkets should be doing more
to support British fruit growers. And people can help by buying local
apples from farmers markets and by demanding more choice from the supermarkets.
But the Government must also act - and use money from the Common Agricultural
Policy to support orchards in the UK. This would help diversify the
local farming economy, be good for consumers and make our countryside
more attractive to tourists”.
John Breach, Chairman, British Independent Fruit Growers Association
said:
“I'm not surprised by these findings, over recent years the
supermarkets have made it increasingly difficult for us to supply them.
We would like to see a return to more local sourcing of fruit but growers
need to be assured that they will be able to sell their produce otherwise
they will grub up their orchards. We need much more support from the
supermarkets. We hope that this survey will make people think about
where their fruit comes from and ask for British apples and pears.”
Friends of the Earth is hosting a major debate on the future of
food and farming, in Exeter on Wednesday 21st November
2001. Our report, calling for a fair deal for UK farmers and consumers
will be available at the debate [4] .
Percentage lines of non-organic apples and pears sourced from the UK this season:
|
Supermarket |
% apples from UK |
% pears from UK |
TOTAL |
|
Waitrose |
73 |
65 |
71 |
|
Somerfield |
46 |
32 |
43 |
|
Asda |
45 |
32 |
43 |
|
Sainsburys |
46 |
21 |
38 |
|
M&S |
41 |
10 |
33 |
|
Co-op |
35 |
28 |
32 |
|
Tesco |
36 |
21 |
31 |
|
Safeway |
36 |
6 |
25 |
NB: sourcing data relates to lines not varieties e.g. there may be 3 lines of Cox variety apples sourced from 3 different countries.
[1] Daily Telegraph 02/11/01
[2] Information from English Apples and Pears
[3] Figures available from Friends of the Earth.
[4] Get Real About Food and Farming - Friends of the Earth's vision for the future of farming in the UK
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
