Why are homegrown apples in the UK more expensive than imported bananas?

"But, unlike other goods, such as petrol, the price we pay at the supermarket for fresh food has become detached from the cost of getting it there. It's not like in the old days, where supermarkets would look at each product and what margin they wanted on it, says Ali Capper, a grower and the executive chair of the trade body British Apples & Pears. They'll take a mix of products and look at their margin as a whole."

"Bananas are retailers' top-selling fresh product in many parts of the world. Alistair Smith, executive director of not-for-profit campaign group Banana Link, says that in countries that consume bananas, nine households out of 10 buy them, so [retailers] fight very hard to keep the prices down. Sometimes, bananas have been used as loss leaders, being sold below cost, as a way to win custom."

"Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, since 2000, the price of a kilo of dessert apples has been consistently higher than the price of a kilo of bananas. The data, which ends in January 2025, shows that, at that point, the average price of a kilo of dessert apples was 2.14, while the same weight of bananas cost 1.02."

Apple prices in the UK have risen and remain higher per kilogram than bananas. Supermarkets set margins across a basket of products rather than on each item, allowing varied markups between items. Bananas are a top-selling fresh product and are often priced aggressively; retailers sometimes use bananas as loss leaders sold below cost to attract customers. Wholesale prices on 20 January showed homegrown apples at £1.23/kg and bananas at 98p/kg, while retail averages in January 2025 were £2.14/kg for dessert apples and £1.02/kg for bananas. Almost 60% of apples sold in the UK are imported, including long-haul shipments from New Zealand.

Read at www.theguardian.com