... and it’s great news for strawberries

THE season for strawberries and cream will come a little earlier than usual this year – thanks to last month’s sunny weather.

Strawberry harvests are up by 50 per cent on last year after we enjoyed around 166 hours of sunshine in April.

The increased sunlight, which has also boosted the fruit’s natural sugar levels, has led to a bumper crop which will fill supermarket shelves this month.

British strawberry harvests usually peak in June with earlier stocks imported from countries such as Spain.

However, industry body British Summer Fruits warned that the earlier harvest may not lead to cheaper prices due to the cost of living crisis. Chairman Nick Marston said: ‘Higher energy and labour costs have actually pushed up the price of producing a punnet of strawberries by about 20p... Despite these challenges, British strawberries remain a true success story.’

Rupert Carter, of Kent-based producer WB Chambers Farms, said: ‘We have enjoyed bright days this spring coupled with cool nights. This makes the berries sweeter and is one of the main reasons for such good tasting fruit.’ The British strawberry industry is worth £769million, with Britons buying more than 87,000 tons last year.