British supermarket chain Asda has been named South African Stone Fruit Retailer of the Year by industry body Hortgro.

The  announcement follows more than 40% sales growth for South African peaches, nectarines and plums by Asda during the 2012-13 season.

The award recognizes one retailer a year for supporting the category during the often difficult British winter season, explained Hortgro product manager Jacques du Preez.

"Selling plums, peaches and nectarines in the UK winter has always presented a challenge, as many consumers traditionally regard these as summer fruits," du Preez said in a press statement.

"This was certainly the case this latest season, where we saw sustained cold weather while the fruit was on shelves.

"It makes the healthy upward trend in the UK market in general and ASDA’s performance in the category in particular, all the more exciting."

Du Preez pointed to the Beautiful Country, Beautiful Fruit campaign as a supporting factor in sales growth. The marketing campaign has promoted South African plums, peaches, nectarines, apples and pears on the U.K. market since the 2009-10 season.

"Our UK partners have been incredibly supportive of the Beautiful Country, Beautiful Fruit campaign for South African produce. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13 we have seen stone fruit volumes grow in the largest four retailers by more than 60 per cent," he said.

"It demonstrates clearly what can be achieved with sustained and well-focused collaborative promotional activity in the fresh produce category."

According to Hortgro, South African stonefruit volume grew up to 8% in the 2012-13 season, reaching a record 17.1 million cartons in exports.

Photo: Asda stonefruit buyer Elio Biondo receiving award from Jacques du Preez

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