COVID-19 INCREASE IN ROADSIDE SALES OF STRAWBERRIES
STRAWBERRY sellers are back on the roadside in Wexford, albeit with the addition of protective face masks, and consumers are buying the fruit in greater quantities than ever, helping to compensate for an absent demand from hotels and restaurants which remain closed.
It’s been a great growing season for the Wexford-synonomous fruit, according to Eamonn Crean of the family-run Greenhill Farm in Davidstown outside Enniscorthy, who has been selling strawberries for over 30 years, ever since he was a teenager.
‘Because of the fine weather, the quality of the fruit is very good and there is a large demand in the market from roadside sales and supermarkets,’ he said.
Greenhill, which is run by Eamonn and his wife Deirdre currently has roadside stalls around the south-east, in Cavan, the Midlands and North Dublin and produce from the 30-acre fruit farm is sold in SuperValu and Aldi which includes it in the Specially Selected range.
‘The market has changed. We normally supply all the hotels in Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Waterford but that’s completely gone because they’re all closed. It’s gone to a different market. People are eating more fruit than ever – they’re buying it in the supermarkets and on the roadside and in online sales,’ said Eamonn.
A government decision to allow farmer’s markets to re-open from May 18, paved the way for GreenHill to begin roadside selling and stalls are now operating, with a two-metre gap between customer and seller.
Eamonn said strict food hygiene standards are nothing new in the soft fruit industry but An Bord Bia and Teagasc have been very supportive in outlining Covid-19 guidelines.
‘They’re giving a lot of support. But we have to operate at a very high standard anyway. We’ve been down this road before with Foot and Mouth. We’re dealing with strict procedures all the time. It has to be that way when you’re dealing with a product that goes straight from the plant into a person’s mouth.’
At roadside stalls, the only person who has access to the fruit is the glove-wearing seller who hands the punnets over. Customers are not allowed to handle fruit.
Eamonn, a native of Davidstown, is the third generation of his family to grow strawberries. His grandfather Tom English started growing strawberries in 1947 and his uncle and aunt Paddy and Bridget English also grew the fruit.
He started out as an enterprising seller of Wexford strawberries at the age of 17, sourcing in Wexford and driving up to Cavan, Offaly and Roscommon to sell on the roadside.
‘That gave me a good understanding of what people want. If you listen to your customer you won’t go too far wrong,’ said Eamonn who began growing his own strawberries in 2003 when quality started to become an issue. Morning Centenary and Murano are currently among the top varieties.
According to the Davidstown farmer, 50% of the cost of strawberries is labour, with a large number of Irish, Romanian and Bulgarian pickers involved at peaks season. A majority of overseas pickers arrived before the Covid-19 lockdown. Greenhill also grows raspberries and blackberries.
‘We never go down below 30 staff,’ said Eamonn, adding that a number of the farm’s employees have moved here from other countries and are now rearing families locally. During the Covid-19 crisis, roadside and online sales have been very brisk.
‘People are eating more fruit and veg and I think that will continue,’ he said. But he was nervous about the success of business this year. ‘There were so many questions we couldn’t answer a month ago. We didn’t know if we would be able to sell on the road.
‘Then they allowed farmers’ markets to open and we followed in with those guidelines. We’re here through the loyalty of the Irish public who are very supportive of the fresh fruit industry. That’s why we’re still here. Only for them we would be gone.’