Retailers battle for British apple top spot

British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) represents UK growers and collates monthly data on how many British apples and pears UK retailers are buying.  

The sales from the first nine months of the current harvest year, which started in September 2024 and concluded at the end of May 2025, have been analysed, showcasing several standout performances. 

Asda has continued its startling early-season performance, more than doubling the volume of British apples this season. The retailer bought 11,200 tonnes of apples this season, compared to 5,458 tonnes between September 2023 and May 2024. 

Other standout year-on-year performances have been achieved by Lidl (increased by 2,668 tonnes), Tesco (up 2,633 tonnes) and Sainsbury’s (up 1,436 tonnes).  

However, it is not only the bigger retailers that are seeing improvements, BAPL said. M&S is now buying 5.2% of all British apples compared to their market share of 3.7%, and Waitrose is also outperforming its market share, buying 4.8% of all British apples compared to a 4.6% grocery market share. 

Even those retailers that were struggling in the first six months of the season have managed to make some improvements.  

Morrisons is still down on last year, but only by 391 tonnes. Co-op is down 566 tonnes compared to the same nine months of last season, but the retailer has also been dealing with the impact of a cyberattack.

At the top of the league table, Tesco has pulled ahead of its rivals (buying 28,421 tonnes from BAPL growers between September 2024 and May 2025), although there is still time for others to catch up. 

‘Neck and neck’ race

Ali Capper, BAPL’s executive chair, said: “Six months into the season Aldi were at the top, but Tesco have had a cracking third quarter and have just pulled ahead. The race for the number one spot is still neck and neck. 

“Lidl and Aldi continue to outperform against their market share. Aldi achieved a performance 8.6 percentage points above their grocery market share, and Lidl was 7.5 percentage points higher. 

“If Tesco performed as well as Lidl, they would be selling half of all British apples.”

British apple sales from BAPL growers to UK supermarkets from September to May (tonnes):

British pears 

When it comes to British pears, Sainsbury’s continues to be the standout performer, having bought 36.7% (4,935 tonnes) of all British pears sold by BAPL growers in the nine months from September 2024 to May 2025.  

Lidl and Aldi also had relatively strong performances compared to their grocery market share, buying 19.8% (2,660 tonnes) and 14.5% (1,947 tonnes) in the first nine months of the season.  

Waitrose too outperformed their market share, buying 9.1% (1,222 tonnes) of all British pears, which is around double their market share of 4.6%. 

Ms Capper continued: “We may be in the final stages of the 2024 season sales, but we know there are good stocks of British apples in store, and that means there is still everything to play for. 

“However, the number one complaint we hear from shoppers is that they cannot find British apples in-store. We know they are there, but Union Jacks are not prominent enough, and apple variety information is too small, so this is a plea to all retailers to make it easier to find British apples and pears.” 

 British pear sales from BAPL growers to UK supermarkets (Sep 2024 to May 2025):

BAPL announces its retailer of the year in September. Read monthly sales data on the BAPL website. 

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