Retailers 'sympathetic' to short apple supply English apples have been in shorter supply this year because there was too much rain and too few insects to help with pollination. But now Britain is about to see many more in the shops. Adrian Barlow - CEO of the trade association English Apples and Pears - told the Today programme: "This year we've got a good crop of the very new varieties." He added that shops have helped to ease the pressure by lowering their appearance standards. "The retailers this year have been very sympathetic, they've tried to reduce their standards with regard to weather marking, and have worked very closely with the industry," Barlow said. The supermarkets have tried to get the message through to consumers that a little bit of weather marking on skins doesn't affect taste.