Retailers have bought a record volume of British apples from growers nine months into the current season, according to British Apples & Pears.
The grower organisation said total British apple sales between September and June reached 138,823 tonnes – up 5% year on year and “highlighting continued strong demand for British-grown fruit”.
Tesco has bought the most apples so far, having purchased 29,186t of the fruit, followed closely by Aldi (27,171t) and Lidl (24,421t). Sainsbury’s has purchased 19,855t to date, ahead of Asda (12,828t), Waitrose (6,308t), M&S (5,646t), Morrisons (5,440t), Co-op (4,241t), Ocado (2,591t), ‘others’ (734t) and Iceland (372t).
“We are proud to be British agriculture’s biggest customer and we are a leading supporter of the thousands of British farmers we work with year-round to provide our customers with quality, affordable British produce,” a Tesco spokesperson told The Grocer.
They added: “We continue to grow our British apple and pear ranges year on year and have given away thousands of British apples to children this year already as part of our Free Fruit for Kids initiative.”
In terms of growth, Lidl has posted the highest year-on-year increase with the apple volumes up by 3,834t. Aldi also increased purchases by 1,094t, while Asda has continued its “strong upward trajectory” by increasing purchases by 1,628t. Morrisons increased purchases by 710t, while Co-op reversed last year’s decline, increasing purchases by more than 500t.
The German discounters were also the highest purchases of British apples relative to their grocery market share. Lidl has purchased 17.6% of all British apples sold by BAP growers, while Aldi has bought 19.6%, despite them accounting for 8.6% and 10.8% of the grocery market, according to data from Kantar [12 w/e 17 May] and M&S.
A Lidl spokesperson said British farmers and growers were “crucial to our successful growth in Great Britain”.
“In 2025 we committed to spending £30bn with British suppliers over five years. This was a signal of intent and a commitment that we take extremely seriously,” they continued. “And, as the fastest-growing bricks & mortar grocer for three years, it’s critical that we continue to work hard to further strengthen our relationships with British agriculture.
While BAP has created a ranking of the biggest purchasers, BAP executive chair Ali Capper cautioned the data was “simply not to create a league table”.
“It is to celebrate those retailers backing British growers and encourage others to do more,” she said. “British shoppers consistently tell us they want to buy British fruit when it is available.
“With three months of the season remaining and separate awards recognising both overall purchases and market share performance, there is still everything to play for.”
Although she recognised Tesco’s position as the biggest backer overall, Capper said Lidl and Aldi were “in a league of their own” when it came to support relative to retailer size. She also said BAP would be presenting an additional award to retailers that outperformed their market share this year.
“Lidl deserves particular recognition for delivering the largest increase in purchases this season, while Aldi and Sainsbury’s continue to be among the UK’s biggest supporters of British growers,” Capper said.
“It is also encouraging to see strong year-on-year growth from Asda, Morrisons and Co-op, demonstrating that support for British apples is increasing across a broad range of retailers,” she continued. “The competition for both the volume and market share awards will be fascinating to watch over the final months of the season.”
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