Why do Supermarkets Import ‘Local Produce?’

Allotment cabbages, Jenny Beck

Organic growers Riverford report that the big supermarkets are importing green beans from Kenya, asparagus from Mexico and tenderstem broccoli (about as English a crop as you can get) from Spain, all while they are in season in the UK.

A quick look online today (April 2026) found that:

• (the same one) cabbage from Tesco was from ‘Spain, UK, Ireland and Portugal’
• One pack of plastic-wrapped apples (many are in season in April) from Sainsbury’s are from ‘Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and UK’
• Strawberries (not in season) from Morrisons had no country of origin listed and a ‘do not recycle film’. The few reviews ranged from ‘mouldy’ to ‘the yoghurt tastes sweeter’ to ‘I had to throw them in the bin’.
• Pears (not in season) from ASDA were from Belgium and The Netherlands. Which is a bit confusing as pears are not in season during this time there either?

80% of England’s orchards have been lost in recent decades, yet still supermarkets sell imported fruits (rock-hard pears and non-organic apples coated in shellac – dead insects – to make them look shiny). Buying local also helps support our smaller farmers.

Join the fair farming campaign to help groceries pay proper prices.

A sad story of late is in Worcestershire. Where England’s second-oldest pear tree was felled, to make way for the unnecessary HS2 high-speed rail project (the money would be better spent on upgrading rolling stock and providing better rural public transport.

Critics say HS2 won’t prevent climate change. And based on accidents with high-speed rail abroad, it will kill around 22,000 wildlife once built. Barn Owl Trust says that HS2 is a ‘very expensive way of killing owls’.

Supermarkets import over 80% of our fruits

Most supermarkets sell local vegetables (like carrots and root veggies) but tend to import fruits. Obviously you can’t buy local lemons, oranges or bananas. But they can support local apple and pear farmers, but instead buy more often from Spain, Morocco, Kenya or even New Zealand.

Why? Cost. It’s basically cheaper for them to buy in bulk. So when you see the big supermarkets promoting signs that they are ‘helping local communities’, write to Head Office and ask why they are not supporting local organic fruit growers instead, which bring money into local areas.

An organic fruit farmer in England is going to be either doing the harvest himself/herself, or hiring people to help, likely with good money (it’s hard work). But often the companies that supermarkets buy from are hiring people on cheap labour. And that means more profits for supermarkets.

This is even more so in recent years, as cheaper supermarkets like ALDI and LIDL (who as German companies actually pay their staff far more than most UK ones) mean they need to find ways to compete.

And beware, as sometimes fruit packs have ‘union jack flags’ on them, to fool people into thinking they are locally grown.

We can help by choosing seasonal fruits (or freezing fresh produce). So we are not demanding apples in mid-summer, or strawberries in December.  And when supermarkets offer cheap strawberries from abroad for Wimbledon fortnight, the local organic strawberry grower sees profits dip.

Which supermarkets buy what from where?

Onion harvest, Jenny Beck

Aha – this is when you thought AI was evil! It is – for poetry. But here is some good accurate latest information from our friendly robots, to empower you to know who is buying what from where:

It’s all very well to say ‘don’t cheat’. But a journalist at Sustainable Food Trust tried to investigate, and did not get very far, as the information is not really made public. She found:

• Tesco’s bananas were from Guatemala (acceptable, as you can’t grow them in London!)
• LIDL pink lady apples were from New Zealand
• Morrisons’ figs were from Turkey (figs can grow in southern England)

Loose citrus fruits and apples in Tesco had no country of origin printed. And The National Farmers’ Union lodged a complaint after finding that one big supermarket was listing blueberries from ‘Rosedene Farm’ that it turned out didn’t exist.

Just like Mr Kipling. This was an accusation of ‘farmwashing’.

Look up the PLU code (how food is grown)

It’s far easier to just visit a farmer’s market or farm shop, as the produce is more likely to be naturally grown and plastic-free. PLU stands for ‘price look-up’. So if you want to do some label-reading, this is where it’s at.

You’ll find the plastic stickers on fruit (which should be binned as they won’t compost – nor will plastic netting around onions or citrus fruits – cut up and bin securely at supermarket bag bins inside another secure bag) has numbers:

• A 4 digit code (like 4011 – apple) means the fruit is conventionally grown (usually with pesticides).
• A 5 digital code starting with 9 means the fruit is organic.

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).