When life gives you lemons, take heart from a strawberry

THE British strawberry is one of the greatest joys of summer – and a bumper crop is on its way to supermarkets.

A dry spring and early summer, as well as the recent heatwave, have led to a glut of cheap strawberries as farmers produce an extra 10 to 15 per cent compared with the usual July harvest.

British Berry Growers, an industry group, said consumers also tended to buy more berries in the hot weather, creating high demand to match the supply.

Last month, it said raspberries would be larger and sweeter than normal because of the warm spring, with around 65 per cent more British fruit expected than last year.

The weather has been dry since the start of the year, with most parts of the UK seeing below average rainfall, leading to concern for water supplies and wildlife.

The long-term dry weather and record-breaking heatwave earlier this week caused problems for some of the country’s farmers, with the British Potato Trade Association warning that the “yield and quality” of potato crops would be damaged, pushing up the price of chips.

But berry growers have benefited from the warmth. Alastair Brooks, managing director of Langdon Manor Farm, which supplies berries to Tesco, said: “Following a mild, settled spring, we have experienced prolonged sunshine, extra daylight, and very little rain in the last few weeks.

“This has resulted in an abundance of healthy, ripe, extra sweet strawberries. After a wet Jubilee weekend, we are excited to be able to finally celebrate the British strawberry season.”

Laura Mitchell, berries buying manager for Tesco, said: “British shoppers are going through a tough time at the moment and if there’s something that can put a big smile on faces right now, it’s being able to buy sweet, lush, British strawberries for less than normal.

“The heatwave has brought on the strawberries faster than expected with many growers seeing production about 10 to 15 per cent higher than normal for this time of year. We’re very happy to help out our British growers.”

The 1kg boxes of strawberries will go on sale at more than 750 Tesco stores priced at £4. Similar boxes of cherries will be sold for £5 at 850 stores. Regular 400g punnets of cherries cost £3, so to buy 1kg would normally cost £7.50.

Last year, shoppers bought more than 87,000 tons of British strawberries. The industry is worth more than £769million to the economy, according to Kantar figures.