‘Excellent size': UK blueberry crop up nearly a quarter after warm spring
Growers say the weather has produced an early crop with more and larger berries, while new varieties can bring higher yields and better resilience. About 5,133 tonnes are expected by the end of August, up significantly from almost 4,187 tonnes by the same point last year.
Sales of the spherical fruit are already 9% ahead year on year as growing awareness of the health properties and a healthy crop bolster demand.
Daniel Martin, the group commercial director at S&A Produce, says: 'This blueberry season has seen a really positive early start, about two weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to strong light levels and an absence of rain.
'As a result, we're seeing excellent fruit size and nice, even ripening across the crop. In summary, we are optimistic about the season and expect to see excellent flavour and shelf life from this year's crop.'
The harvest is also being aided by new technology as growers invest in automated picking and other methods to reduce labour costs and improve efficiency.
Jim Floor, the managing director of Hall Hunter, one of the UK's leading blueberry growers, said the company now used machines to harvest 10% of its crop, and this was expected to rise to 30% next year – with the rest picked by hand.
Blueberries are leading the technology push, with the more delicate strawberries, raspberries and blackberries now all picked by hand at Hall Hunter.
'When it comes to robotic fruit picking, we're seeing steady and encouraging progress from robotics and automation companies. However, the technology isn't quite ready for widespread commercial adoption just yet,' Floor said.
The blockbuster blueberry summer comes hot on the heels of a perfect spring for strawberries.
The sunny, very dry spring, with the warmest start to May on record, led to a glut of early strawberries, aubergines and tomatoes at the start of May.
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Growers said they were producing 'giant' 50g strawberries you 'cannot fit in your mouth'. However, the average was a more modest 30g.
Nick Marston, the chair of the industry body British Berry Growers, said that all UK berry crops, including strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, were up by about 25% so far thanks to 'cracking weather' in June that had helped ripen crops that had developed well during the cooler start to the spring. 'The weather has been very beneficial for all berry crops,' he said.
However, Marston said it was not clear if the overall berry harvest for the year would be up by that amount as some fruit would have just have been harvested earlier than usual and picking might tail off depending on conditions.
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