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Fresh Produce Supply Chains Gain a Voice as Government Names Logistics Minister
Britain’s fresh produce and food supply chains could gain a stronger voice at the heart of government following the formal addition of logistics to a Department for Transport ministerial portfolio. Keir Mather MP has become Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation, Maritime and Logistics, giving the sector an explicitly named minister after years of lobbying by freight and transport organisations. Although logistics already fell partly within Mather’s responsibilit
UK Growers Slash Peat Use as One in Three Achieves Peat-Free Production
UK plant growers have cut peat use by more than 60 per cent in four years, although the horticulture industry has warned that completing the transition will be more technically and commercially challenging. Peat accounted for 21.8 per cent of the growing media used by professional growers during 2025, falling sharply from 34.4 per cent in 2024 and 39.5 per cent in 2023. The figure stood at 56 per cent in 2021. The Horticultural Trades Association’s Growers’ Growing Media Usag
UK Becomes Third-Largest Market for Colombian Fresh Fruit
The United Kingdom has emerged as the world’s third-largest destination for Colombian fresh fruit, as the South American country strengthens its reputation beyond its traditionally dominant banana trade. Colombian fresh fruit exports to the UK reached £28.3 (US$38.2) million in 2025, representing a 26.3 per cent increase in value, according to figures highlighted by ProColombia. Only the Netherlands and the United States ranked higher. Alejandro Jaramillo Gómez, commercial at
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Ocado Takes British Technology Global to Deliver Smarter, Greener Grocery Shopping
Ocado Group has opened its first fully automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in South Korea, a milestone that underlines the pace of the technology group's international growth. The site, ZETTA Smartcentre Busan, was launched this month with Lotte Shopping, one of Korea's largest retailers, and will serve a catchment of around four million households across Busan and the wider Yeongnam region. It is expected to create roughly 2,000 jobs locally. The facility showcases so
Claire Donovan to take helm at British Apples & Pears
British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) has appointed Claire Donovan as its next executive chair, marking a significant leadership change for the organisation representing the UK’s commercial apple and pear growers. As reported by The Grocer, Donovan will join BAPL on 1 September 2026 and work alongside current executive chair Ali Capper during a planned two-month transition. She will formally take up the position on 4 November. The appointment follows a comprehensive recruitme
Labour MPs Urge Water Rule Overhaul As Drought Threatens UK Harvests
Labour MPs are pressing Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Government to relax water and planning restrictions to help farmers and growers cope with one of the most damaging droughts in decades. In a letter to Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, the MPs called for greater flexibility over water abstraction licences, a faster planning process for farm reservoirs and targeted financial support for agricultural businesses repeatedly affected by drought. The intervention comes as
A Hotter Britain Is Rewriting the Menu: How Hospitality Can Turn Rising Temperatures into Fresh Growth
Hotter, sunnier conditions are changing when, where and what Britons want to eat and drink. For hospitality operators prepared to rethink their menus, terraces and supply chains, fresh produce could become one of the sector’s strongest engines of growth. Britain’s weather has always been an unreliable business partner. Increasingly, however, higher temperatures are becoming too persistent to be treated as an occasional summer bonus. The Met Office says 2025 was both the UK’s
CMA Moves to Bring Aldi and Lidl Under Major Supermarket Land Rules
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally ruled that Aldi and Lidl should now be classified as Large Grocery Retailers, a decision that would bring both discounters under the same land-use restrictions already governing Britain's biggest supermarket chains. The finding would extend the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010 to Aldi and Lidl for the first time. The order was designed to stop major grocers from using restrictive covenant
Lidl Scales Up Food Rescue Partnership to Nearly 200 Stores
Lidl GB is expanding its food waste redistribution partnership with giving platform Neighbourly and food-sharing app Olio, growing the scheme from an initial 20 stores to almost 200 across the UK. Under the partnership, when local charities are unable to make late-evening collections, Olio's network of volunteer "Food Waste Heroes" step in instead, picking up surplus fresh produce, meat and bakery items before stores close for the day. Rather than going to waste, that food is
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