Sainsbury’s has regained the No1 position for English apples and pears, with over 42,000 tonnes of the home grown fruits sold this season, making it the biggest crop for any supermarket. Selling nearly 300 million apples and pears makes this the biggest season for Sainsbury’s to date according to independent figures released today by English Apples and Pears Ltd.
- Sainsbury’s has record-breaking season for the biggest crop
- Customers buy over 42,000 tonnes, equal to 298 million pieces of fruit
- Gala apples prove the most popular across the UK
This year’s top crop is the Gala apple with our customers chomping their way through 12,300 tonnes of the variety, equal to 71 million apples. Throughout the English season which ran from July 2014 until last month, we sold 32 different varieties of apples and pears, from Bramley apples through to Sweet Sensation pear.
Dr Theresa Huxley, Sainsbury's apples and pear technologist said: “It’s fantastic to see customers making the most of the fantastic range of home grown fruit we have on offer. With over 32 varieties available throughout the season, there’s plenty to choose from. Bumper sales of English apples and pears is great news for growers who are always looking for ways to develop the industry and continue to grow great tasting fruit for our customers.”
Adrian Barlow CEO of English Apples and Pears Ltd said: “Sainsbury’s performance in increasing their sales of English apples and pears during the 2014/15 season by more than 6,000 tonnes has been exceptional. Their share of sales of English to supermarkets has increased from 28.1% to 31.3%, almost double their share of the UK grocery market and they have sold more English apples and pears than any other retailer. English shoppers appreciate the superior taste of English apples and growers are planting new orchards to match the ever greater demand. The English industry greatly appreciates the support from Sainsbury’s and looks forward to working closely with them in developing further increases in sales in the future.”