From the retailers visited, Waitrose was the only UK retailer that had British tomatoes on the shelves in all categories that were tracked; Cherry Vine, Cherry, Baby Plum and Loose Tomatoes. In this respect, Waitrose is underling its commitment to the UK tomato growers that there Technical Agronomy manager Alan Wilson made during last year’s British Tomato Conference.
Cherry Vine Tomatoes
Cherry Vines from the Netherlands could be found at Sainsbury and ASDA. Spain was the supplier of choice at M&S and Lidl, while Co-op had Italian Cherry Vines available. Waitrose offered British Cherry Vine Tomatoes, but these were also expensive ones; £8.10 per kilo. However, the Spanish tomatoes at M&S were sold for £8.80 per kilo. The cheapest offer came from Lidl; Spanish cherry vines for £3.50 per kilo.
Cherry Tomatoes
In regards to Cherry tomatoes, the British Tomato Week is a Moroccan Tomato Week; from the 9 retailers visited, 5 offered cherry tomatoes from Morocco (Sainsbury, Asda, Morissons, Co-op, and Aldi.) Lidl again chose Spanish tomatoes, which were also the cheapest ( £2.00 per kilo). Tesco offered Dutch tomatoes for £2.70 per kilo. Waitrose and M&S offered UK cherry tomatoes. The Cherry tomatoes at M&S were offered for £9.00 per kilo!
Loose tomatoes
The Dutch were also the suppliers of loose tomatoes at Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. Co-op and Waitrose were offering British grown loose tomatoes. The other supermarkets visited did not have loose tomatoes available. Prices were stable ; between £1.99 and £2.00 per kilo.
Baby Plum
UK grown baby plums were offered this week at Waitrose, Morrisons and Co-op. Lidl and Tesco offered Spanish baby plums, while Aldi and Sainsbury preferred Moroccan tomatoes this time. M&S offered Portuguese baby plums for a high price : £7.20 per kilo. Aldi's Moroccan baby plums where the cheapest ; £2.30 per kilo.
