"Despite a challenging time we have delivered our promised growth for you," he told over 50 producers. "In 2007-2008 our volume increased by 36 percent, and the figures can be corroborated by English Apples and Pears (EAP ltd). It should be remembered that we started from a strong base which is a lot harder when you have been leading the charge."

There had however been changes in varietal demand with Tesco responding by offering customers what they wanted.  

Calling the modern dot.com generation of shoppers the "New Brigade" who were less aware of tradition, de la Fuente said that while there had been modest increases in Cox, Gala sales had increased by 20 percent, and Braeburn sales doubled.

He also saw the opportunity to increase demand for English fruit further with the continued development of late season varieties such as Cameo and Kanzi which were coming on stream. "There will still be a market for Heritage varieties, but it’s a question of deciding where they will fit.”  

Factors which had also contributed to the sales momentum were improved use of shelf space making it work harder. The range had been concentrated and the adoption of single large promotions rather than several small ones which often confused customers. Additional emphasis will be placed on store training to improve handling and presentation.

Looking to the future he believes marketing desks will have to liaise even more closely with their growers when harvesting was taking place to develop promotional plans which fitted more closely with the crop.

Increased economic uncertainty and lower levels of public confidence was also affecting food retailing. Tesco has already embarked on a Price Pledge which he said had proved to be not just cheaper than many of Tesco's high Street competitors, but was also in line with discounters, whom he believed would become more competitive.

However, he added; "It is not just a case of asking our suppliers to support this strategy. We realise we will (and have) put our hands in our own pockets."

In addition to retail discussions there was also a strong technical element to the conference with growers hearing the latest results of research from Dr Stephen Humphreys, food industry support manager for Bayer Crop Science.

The target is to reduce pesticide usage to even lower levels and Bayer Crop Science is co-ordinating trials with Norman Collett and Worldwide fruit through its MiniMizer programme. Minimizer is Bayer’s proactive response to the needs of retailers and the food supply chain to deliver product with reduced pesticide residues; the programme is shortly to be extended to vegetables production.  

There are also other pesticide free routes which have demonstrated some considerable success, one of the most recent being the Exosect codling moth mating disruption systems.  David Carey expounded the success of the system, clearly demonstrating its natural origins, species specific formulation and alternative applications emerging from the clothing and storage sectors.

And to add an international flavour, 2006 Nuffield scholar Chris Newenham, Farm Manager for Wilkins and sons of Tiptree, the famous jam makers, reported on his study tour to China. However, in broad terms he did not regard the country as a threat, but rather one of opportunity. "The Chinese have a long way to go because of a lack of production infrastructure," he added saying that while many packhouses were modern the quality of growing he had seen was often poor.

Local labour cost at 35p/hour are outside the imagination of English growers who pay the equivalent of £6:18/hr.

"In the UK we need £1,200/tonne for processing strawberries to break even," he said, "In China the UK delivered price  for frozen fruit is £400."

In closing the conference, de la Fuente took great pains to underline that the messages from all the guest speakers were important for customers.

“Customers want safe, ethically produced food with a carbon footprint which is as low as possible. Increased regulation and auditing with minimal use of sprays (MRLs) are actually a benefit to UK growers because they are a barrier to imports without traceability.”

He went on to say

“China may well be able to produce soft fruit at £400 per tonne but how safe is it? In the wider context, customers and therefore retailers want absolute assurances. Only audits, Tesco Nature’s Choice, Sedex, MRLs and the like can provide these assurances…..they are like a membership card providing access to the UK consumer.”

David Caret, Exosect Ltd