At AC Goatham & Son they are 60% through the apple harvest, mainly Gala with some Cameo apples which are being picked at the moment.
"Quality is very good and no real issues with sunburn, that was really only an issue in Bramleys. Volumes are also looking good, the recent rain has helped size, we were worried that we’d have too many small apples but now the size looks very good," said Ross Goatham.
New season British apple sales have really only started in volume over the last couple of weeks and sales are still a bit depressed but according to Ross volume should build over the next few weeks as the consumers see British is back in stores.
When asked if retailers are being sympathetic to increasing costs Ross replied: "Given the current climate, we are working with our customers in every way possible to ensure apples are still a regular purchase in every shopping basket."
He goes on to say that the high cost of energy should influence how much is put into storage, but that is not possible: "We can not sell all our fruit in 3 months, we now supply British apples over 11 months of the year so we just have to accept the issues and rising costs and plan as best we can."
Export is not an option for Goathams, either to Europe or further afield, due to the poor values offered in real terms which are below production cost.
For more information:
Samantha Cooper
AC Goatham & Son
Tel: +44 1634 253424
Email: Samantha.Cooper@acgoatham.com
www.acgoatham.com