Homegrown strawberries already on the shelves
THE current cold snap has not stopped the first British-grown strawberries of the year arriving in supermarkets.
Tesco and Aldi have both announced the first glasshouse-grown punnets of the fruit are arriving in stores in South Wales.
Tesco said its Bridgend Extra store has started selling the first strawberries of the season, which were grown by Springfield Nursery, based near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Tesco strawberry buyer Jordan Blandford said: “Hats off to Springfield who have achieved this fantastic coup with their expertise and innovation.
“There is always a lot of excitement about the first British strawberries being picked because their arrival means the start of spring is not too far away.
“This is brilliant news for customers as British strawberries are consid- ered to be among the best in the world, thanks to our great growing conditions.”
According to growers’ association British Summer Fruits (BSF), the berry season officially starts on May 1 and lasts until the end of September.
However, technological improvements and mild temperatures mean that producers across the UK have been able to supply strawberries before the end of February.
Last year, the first strawberries arrived on shelves around a week later than this year. According to BSF, the strawberry season was only six weeks long 25 years ago, but industry investment has extended this period to up to nine months.
This year’s production at Springfield will result in about 500 tonnes of strawberries, or the equivalent of about a million punnets.
Tesco also expects to begin selling strawberries grown in Essex from this weekend, with more of the fruit from Lancashire, Berkshire and Kent following shortly after. Aldi also said strawberries will be available to buy at its Bridgend store now.
It said the extended British season had been made possible by milder weather and advanced growing techniques.
Julie Ashfield, joint managing director for corporate buying at Aldi, said: “It’s always a celebrated milestone when we can offer customers exceptional quality, Britishgrown strawberries.”