Industry Analysis & Industry Trends
The Fruit & Vegetable Wholesaling industry is in trouble. Falling consumption, higher input prices and dwindling profit margins have caused the industry to struggle over the past five years. The increasing incidence of supermarkets bypassing wholesalers to purchase their fresh produce directly from growers has resulted in falling profits and low growth in revenue. The gross imbalance between the number of buyers and sellers, combined with the clout of supermarkets as a result of being the one-stop-shop for the majority of consumers, has caused wholesalers and farmers to bear the brunt of a recessive climate and higher input prices... purchase to read more
Industry Report - Industry Analysis Chapter
Fruit and vegetable consumption in the United Kingdom has been declining over the past three decades. In 2008, the average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was 3.7 portions per day, down from 3.9 per day in 2007. Poor nutrition is estimated to have cost the National Health Service £8.0 billion in 2009, despite the fervour with which the 5-a-day message has been promoted over the past decade. Recent increases in consumption have been driven by growing fruit juice consumption, while aggregate vegetable consumption has remained stable. Further, rising fruit costs and the trend for supermarkets to bypass wholesalers have led to dwindling profit margins and marginal revenue growth for wholesalers... purchase to read more