FRUITS IN THE UNITED

KINGDOM
Euromonitor International
May 2015

FRUITS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

Headlines ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Trends .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Summary 1

Major Distributors of Fruits 2014 .................................................................. 2

Prospects ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Category Data .............................................................................................................................. 3
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6

Sales of Fruits by Category: Total Volume 2009-2014 ................................. 3

Sales of Fruits by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2009-2014 ................ 3
Sales of Fruits by Organic/Fairtrade vs Standard: % Total Volume
2012-2014 .................................................................................................... 4
Distribution of Fruits by Format: % Total Volume 2009-2014 ....................... 4
Forecast Sales of Fruits by Category: Total Volume 2014-2019 .................. 4
Forecast Sales of Fruits by Category: % Total Volume Growth 20142019 ............................................................................................................. 4

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FRUITS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

FRUITS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

HEADLINES
Fruit volume sales fall by 1% in 2014 to 2.4 million tonnes
Easy-peel citrus fruits and blueberries are popular in 2014
Cranberries/blueberries by far the best performer with volume growth of 10% to reach 15,000
tonnes
Fruits set to register an overall volume decline of 1% over 2014-2019

TRENDS
Fruits suffered a slight decline in volume terms in 2014 as the biggest categories apples,
banana and oranges, tangerines and mandarins - all continued to register contractions.
However, within these categories there were some real success stories. Pink Lady apples
prospered in 2014 and, although orange citrus fruits as a whole suffered in volume terms,
clementines performed very well, boosted by consumers fondness for easy-peel varieties
which are also very sweet and juicy. Going forward, clementines and other easy-to-peel small
citrus fruits should increase their presence in foodservice channels, where bigger fruits like
oranges have been declining as they are seen as difficult to peel, with some juice going on
peoples clothing rather than in their mouths.
With consumers increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of the distances their
food has to travel to get to retailers, and also keen to buy British wherever possible,
manufacturers have continued to prominently display the provenance of locally-grown
produce. This creates opportunities for UK-based suppliers, which are looking to expand their
businesses wherever possible to take advantage of this increasing demand. Sainsburys
apple and pear supplier AC Goatham & Son, for example, announced plans in 2014 to double
its production over the next 20 years. This will involve planting over 250,000 new apple and
pear trees in the next two years so that it can increase its share of Sainsburys supply, which
is already 54%.
Blueberries continued to enjoy strong growth in 2014, benefiting from the common perception
of them as a superfood, offering a variety of health benefits. It is notable, however, that even
though their broad health qualities are widely accepted, the exact claims attached to them are
more disputed. Heart health and memory are often cited as being helped by blueberries, while
fighting cancer is also listed among their qualities. However, the evidence for their success in
these areas is disputed and the British Dietary Association is unsure they deserve the
superfood moniker. What it does not dispute, however, is that they are worthy of being in
anyones five fruit or vegetables a day.
Apples posted another year of decline, but volume sales remained high overall as the apple
remains a staple of the UK diet. It was helped in this regard by research which suggests the
old saying an apple a day keeps ailments at bay might actually be true. Researchers at the
University of Michigan looked at data on 8,399 US adults and found evidence to support the
proverb, and that those who ate the fruit were less likely to use prescription medicine.
However, they could not prove that the other well-known saying was true that apples keep
the doctor away.
A major story in the fruit competitive landscape in 2014 was the saga of the ultimately
unsuccessful merger between Chiquita and Fyffes, a deal which would have created a
banana behemoth. Brazils Cutrale and Safra families succeeded in destroying a bid from

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Irelands Fyffes for Chiquita, which they hope will see them benefit from the acquisition of the
US banana company. Chiquitas shareholders voted against a proposed merger with Fyffes
and agreed instead to begin takeover talks with the Brazilians, who offered over US$1.3
billion for control of the company. The saga shows how much value investors place in a fruit
whose popularity shows no sign of falling.
Summary 1
Major Distributors of Fruits 2014
Company name
Product type

Rank

Empire World Trade

Fruits

DG Fruit UK

Fruits

Worldwide Fruit

Fruits

Source:

Euromonitor International from company reports, company research, trade press, trade sources

PROSPECTS
The category is expected to register a marginal volume CAGR decline over 2014-2019,
although it will suffer more in value terms due to continued price wars between the major UK
retailers and discounters. This will cause serious problems for suppliers, who will come under
increasing pressure. For example, the Fairtrade Foundation has raised concerns over the
future of fairtrade products in the UK, most notably bananas, in such an environment. The
Fairtrade Foundation has already warned that growers are being forced away from the UK to
new overseas markets, and this will continue if margins become even tighter, as expected.
Provenance and sustainability will continue to be key trends in fruits but if retailers and
suppliers want to significantly increase their value sales from the increased pricing these
trends can justify, evidence suggests that they will need to invest in awareness raising
campaigns about the capacity of UK farming first. Research revealed in 2014 by Linking
Environment and Farming showed 19% of people did not know the UK produced apples.
Worryingly for future prospects, this figure rose to 35% when the people asked were born in
the 1990s. The figures were higher for other fruits, with 50% unaware that British farmers
grew strawberries.
As competition grows evermore fierce with the rise of discounters, established retailers will
strike deals they hope will help them compete in terms of both price and quality. At the end of
2014, Tesco signed a 5-year deal with the Spanish company AMT Fruit to supply it with
lemons, limes, satsumas, clementines, tangerines and oranges. It is interesting that one of the
key boasts made about the deal was the access it will give Tesco customers to the freshest
and newest varieties of citrus fruits, which the supermarket will ensure its advertising and
marketing exploits to the full so as to differentiate itself from competitors on quality grounds.
It is likely that there will be a flurry of new claims for blueberries over 2014-2019. The most
recent at the time of writing is that they could help victims of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). Researchers from Louisiana State University found blueberries could actually mimic
the effects of drugs prescribed for the condition. After testing on rats, they found that
blueberries could potentially control the mood of a person with PTSD. For blueberry
producers, the value of these studies is not whether they are proved right in the long run, but
that they add to the general perception of the fruit as ultra-healthy.
However, the rise of blueberries may be checked by a lack of supply. The UK already
consumes a relatively high proportion of blueberries, but other European countries are
catching up and as they do so production may be an issue. US-based Fall Creek Farm &

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Nursery said markets across Northern Europe in particular were following the UK's lead and
switching from seasonal, price-driven consumption of blueberries to an increasingly yearround, managed category. Meeting this will be both a challenge and an opportunity for
producers.

CATEGORY DATA
Table 1

Sales of Fruits by Category: Total Volume 2009-2014

'000 tonnes

Apples
Banana
Cherries
Cranberries/Blueberries
Grapefruit/Pomelo
Grapes
Lemon and Limes
Oranges, Tangerines and
Mandarins
Peaches/Nectarines
Pears/Quinces
Pineapple
Plums/Sloes
Strawberries
Other Fruits
Fruits

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

631.5
631.8
13.3
8.4
30.3
106.0
67.0
452.5

623.2
622.3
13.0
10.2
29.8
104.5
66.0
445.2

612.0
615.5
12.9
11.5
29.4
103.2
65.3
440.3

592.4
609.9
12.8
12.6
29.1
102.2
64.7
436.4

559.9
605.6
12.9
13.8
28.9
101.4
64.4
433.3

531.9
604.4
13.1
15.1
28.7
100.7
64.1
430.7

65.0
128.2
42.6
54.3
71.2
282.7
2,584.5

63.7
126.3
41.9
53.5
74.4
278.4
2,552.5

62.7
124.9
40.5
52.8
76.0
274.8
2,521.7

62.0
123.9
38.8
52.2
77.0
272.3
2,486.2

61.4
123.4
37.2
51.7
78.4
270.4
2,442.5

61.2
123.6
35.7
51.5
79.6
269.1
2,409.5

Source:

Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 2

Sales of Fruits by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2009-2014

% total volume growth

Apples
Banana
Cherries
Cranberries/Blueberries
Grapefruit/Pomelo
Grapes
Lemon and Limes
Oranges, Tangerines and Mandarins
Peaches/Nectarines
Pears/Quinces
Pineapple
Plums/Sloes
Strawberries
Other Fruits
Fruits
Source:

2013/14

2009-14 CAGR

2009/14 Total

-5.0
-0.2
1.9
10.0
-0.7
-0.6
-0.4
-0.6
-0.4
0.2
-3.9
-0.4
1.5
-0.5
-1.4

-3.4
-0.9
-0.2
12.5
-1.1
-1.0
-0.9
-1.0
-1.2
-0.7
-3.4
-1.0
2.3
-1.0
-1.4

-15.8
-4.3
-1.0
80.2
-5.4
-5.0
-4.3
-4.8
-5.9
-3.6
-16.1
-5.1
11.8
-4.8
-6.8

Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

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FRUITS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Table 3

Passport

Sales of Fruits by Organic/Fairtrade vs Standard: % Total Volume 2012-2014

% units

Fairtrade
Organic/Fairtrade
Standard
Organic
Total
Source:

2012

2013

2014

9.0
4.0
74.0
13.0
100.0

9.0
5.0
73.0
13.0
100.0

9.0
6.0
72.0
13.0
100.0

Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 4

Distribution of Fruits by Format: % Total Volume 2009-2014

% total volume

Retail
Foodservice
Institutional
Total
Source:

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

83.2
14.1
2.7
100.0

83.4
14.0
2.6
100.0

83.5
13.9
2.6
100.0

83.6
13.8
2.6
100.0

83.7
13.7
2.6
100.0

83.8
13.3
2.9
100.0

Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 5

Forecast Sales of Fruits by Category: Total Volume 2014-2019

'000 tonnes

Apples
Banana
Cherries
Cranberries/Blueberries
Grapefruit/Pomelo
Grapes
Lemon and Limes
Oranges, Tangerines and
Mandarins
Peaches/Nectarines
Pears/Quinces
Pineapple
Plums/Sloes
Strawberries
Other Fruits
Fruits
Source:

Table 6

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

531.9
604.4
13.1
15.1
28.7
100.7
64.1
430.7

506.3
605.6
13.4
16.8
28.5
100.3
63.9
428.8

487.1
610.5
13.7
18.8
28.5
100.1
64.0
427.3

472.0
617.2
14.0
21.2
28.4
100.0
64.1
426.4

458.0
625.2
14.1
24.2
28.4
100.1
64.3
426.0

453.4
634.6
14.3
27.9
28.4
100.6
64.5
428.5

61.2
123.6
35.7
51.5
79.6
269.1
2,409.5

61.4
124.3
34.4
51.7
80.7
268.5
2,384.7

61.9
125.2
33.2
52.0
81.8
269.1
2,373.1

62.7
126.4
32.0
52.4
82.7
270.7
2,370.2

63.5
127.8
30.9
53.0
83.6
273.1
2,372.4

64.5
129.4
30.0
53.6
84.5
275.9
2,390.1

Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Forecast Sales of Fruits by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2014-2019

% total volume growth

Apples

Euromonitor International

2014/15

2014-19 CAGR

2014/19 Total

-1.0

-3.1

-14.7

FRUITS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Banana
Cherries
Cranberries/Blueberries
Grapefruit/Pomelo
Grapes
Lemon and Limes
Oranges, Tangerines and Mandarins
Peaches/Nectarines
Pears/Quinces
Pineapple
Plums/Sloes
Strawberries
Other Fruits
Fruits
Source:

Passport

1.5
1.0
15.0
0.0
0.5
0.4
0.6
1.5
1.3
-3.1
1.2
1.0
1.0
0.7

1.0
1.7
13.0
-0.2
0.0
0.1
-0.1
1.1
0.9
-3.5
0.8
1.2
0.5
-0.2

Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Euromonitor International

5.0
8.9
84.2
-1.1
-0.1
0.7
-0.5
5.4
4.7
-16.1
4.2
6.1
2.5
-0.8