We want to end misleading practices employed by many foreign apple suppliers' English apple growers want competitive imported fruit which are often similar varieties to be individually labelled with country of origin because they claim consumers are confused. Speaking at the launch of the Cox campaign held at the London Eye last Monday, Adrian Barlow, its chief executive, said research had shown that more and more consumers were showing a preference for English. "We want to end misleading practices employed by many foreign apple suppliers. Shoppers who think they are buying British apples are ending up with inferior imported substitutes." He claimed more than 20 million apples a week come into the UK. While much of the fruit is stickered these are cooperative, local or regional brands often ignoring source. Although by law origin has to be shown on the retail shelf, Barlow counteracted this by saying that the information was often hard to see. "All English fruit carries a Union Jack as well as the variety," he said. While accepting that a flood of cheap apples had put pressure on growers, Barlow insisted that competitiveness was not the issue. "We are not and have never asked for anything other than imports to carry a label clearly showing the country of origin. Shoppers can then make an informed coice, something they cannot currently do." Just how successful the appeal, which is part of a £500,000 promotional campaign, will be has already been questioned by the trade. Apple groups compete against themselves on international markets and any move to change would be a major investment. Many have spent literally millions over the years in establishing their own brands which they claim are as well known as countries of origin. {{FRESH PRODUCE }}

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