Irish supermarket strawberry warning as experts 'not seen this in 19 years'
Strawberries are a staple in Irish homes, especially during the sunny spells we've been enjoying lately - perfect for picnics, desserts or just a fresh snack.
Ireland takes pride in growing its own delicious strawberries, which are famous for their juicy sweetness and fresh-from-the-field flavour. But when you're shopping in supermarkets across the country, you'll often find a choice between homegrown Irish berries and imported ones from the UK and other countries.
For those buying imported strawberries from the UK, an alert has been issued this summer about a so-called "giant" bumper crop in England. The strawberries this year are reportedly huge, with growers admitting some may not even fit in your mouth. UK growers told The Guardian that they have "never seen anything like it."
Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at the Summer Berry Company, said: "We had the darkest January and February since the 70s but then the brightest March and April since 1910. From March onwards it was really kind of perfect for tunnel strawberries. The berries are between 10% and 20% larger." He added that their plants are yielding "giant" 50g berries you "cannot fit in your mouth", Birmingham Live reports.
Nick Marston, chair of British Berry Growers, said: "We're seeing very good size, shape, appearance, and most of all, really great flavour and sugar content, which is what consumers want when they buy British strawberries."
He also cautioned: "I'm always a little cautious of saying strawberries are 20% bigger because there's an average involved and some crops will be slightly smaller than others. But I think it would be fair to say the very nice sunshine, the cool overnight temperatures, are ideal for fruit development. The slower the development of the fruits, the more time to expand the cells and create the bigger berry. What we are now seeing is something I have never seen in 19 years, which is consistently larger berries."
Marston also raised concerns about water shortages that could affect some growers, saying: "It has been a perfect start to the strawberry season for us ... I have genuinely never seen a harvest produce such large berries consistently. Some are supersized - growing to the size of plums or even kiwi fruits."
Closer to home, Jimmy Kearns, owner of Kearns Fruit Farm near Enniscorthy, told the Sunday Independent that Irish strawberries are expected to ripen earlier this summer thanks to the current dry spell. He said: "This year has been exceptionally good and we expect we could have a fresh crop ready for the shops two weeks earlier than usual.
"I reckon we will be picking in the tunnels in early May. Irish people will be looking forward to their fruit, because the Spanish crop has really suffered from terrible storms, and growers in Egypt and Morocco have also had a bad season."
Vincent Murphy of VM Fruits in Clonroche, Co Wexford, said the "perfect" weather with plenty of daylight "makes the plants happy". Around 80% of his crop is bought by Dunnes Stores, and he predicts roadside strawberry stands will be appearing earlier this year.
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