The Uk Market for Apples 2009/10

* The estimated resident population of the UK was 61,383,000 in mid 2008, up by 408,000 on the previous year

* UK average household income is £14,317 ($23,000)

* GDP was up by 0.4% at the end of 2009

* 6 straight quarters of decline ended at the end of 2009. The overall slump in the UK was the biggest contraction since records began in 1949 and the total decline in 2009 was 4.8%

* CPI annual inflation - the Government's preferred target measure - was 3.4 per cent in March 2010. The RPI rose by 4.4%.

* Groceries overall edged up 1.2 % Y on Y in March, although vegetables and other staples were static.

* Annual food inflation has been falling since the start of 2010. It hit a peak of 10% in the summer of 2008

* Between Jan-Feb 2010 retail sales volumes increased by 2.1%, with food being 1.2%

* Y on Y February retail sales were 3.5% higher than in Feb 2009

* 2010 is likely to be a tough trading year for retailers according to the British Retail consortium, with a General Election, VAT increases and other tax rises in the pipeline, the UK faces continued economic uncertainty

* After Christmas 2009 food retailers reported strong sales of premium lines and luxuries - giving an indication consumers still want to treat themselves at special times of the year

* According to GTA the UK imported 455,644 MT of fresh apples in 2009, down from 481,717 MT in 2008

* GTA estimate that the USA exported 816,167 MT of apples in 2009, of these 27,627 MT were exported to the UK

* The USA are the 7th largest exporter of apples to the UK, with France, SA, and NZ all exporting substantial amounts more then the US in to the UK

* The fresh fruit and vegetable market in the UK is valued at over £7bn at current prices.

* The value of the fresh produce market grew 4.4% in 2009, down slightly on the same period in 2008

* Volumes fell 0.4% during the same period however, reversing the growth seen the previous year.

* Fruit was largely responsible for the decline, having seen volumes slip 3.5%, possibly as a consequence of higher prices.

* TNS indicate that the overall volume for apples at retail is declining due to shoppers spending less in the category and also through switching to other fruit sectors (52 weeks to August 2009 Worldpanel figures)

* In this time soft fruit, citrus and bananas all took share

* However apples still accounted for 18.1% share of the total retail fruit market in the UK in August 2009, but this had dipped from 18.4% from 2008

* Total fruit retail expenditure stands at £3.93bn in the year to August 2009, with expenditure on apples standing at £712.5 million, a 0.8% increase over the previous 12 months

* However soft fruit and bananas expenditure grew at 4.5% and 5.2% over the same period

* Gala