UK-grown strawberries are arriving on supermarket shelves after days of bright sunshine and above-average temperatures boosted growth.
Punnets will begin to arrive on Tesco shelves in Surrey, Kent, Herefordshire and some London stores from Friday, with nearly half the country to follow on next week, the supermarket said.
The grocer expects to receive 300 tonnes of UK-grown fruit next week – roughly one million punnets – up by more than 100% just three weeks ago.
The whole of the UK is set to be supplied by mid-May.
The news means retailers will have to rely less on Spanish and Moroccan imports in the next few weeks.
Tesco strawberry buyer Callum Baker said: “The start of the outdoor British strawberry season is a huge feel-good moment in the year as it means summer is just around the corner with many months ahead of outdoor living.
“Next week marks a significant step forward in the transition to British supply, with volumes of UK strawberries into Tesco set to increase by more than double since the beginning of April.
“Based on the extra sunshine we’ve just had and good weather forecast over the next few days we predict our total UK strawberry volume to be around 40% next week.
“If the weather stays relatively good from now then we’ll see UK-wide availability of British-grown strawberries by mid-May.”
Neil Donaldson, commercial director of growers Hall Hunter, which has farms near Wokingham and Wargrave in Berkshire and Godalming in Surrey, said: “Cool nights and warm sunny days create the perfect conditions for growing sweet, full-flavoured strawberries — and that’s exactly what this weekend’s forecast is bringing.
“Thanks to these ideal conditions, we’re expecting a 30% increase in strawberries coming off our farms. It’s a fantastic start to the UK strawberry season, and we’re hopeful these great conditions will continue.”
The strawberry variety going into Tesco stores is called Lady Emma, known for its large size and sweet flavour, with 400g punnets costing £2.50.
Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director at The Summer Berry Company, said: “As we start to transition from our year-round glasshouse crop, our first outdoor strawberries of the season are being picked this week, as the British weather continues to improve.
“The weather was poor throughout March, which means we’re not expecting a glut of strawberries like we had last year. But that’s actually good news for us all, as it means there won’t be too much fruit all coming at once.
“And the brilliant news is we expect the strawberries this year to be particularly sweet.
“With the unsettled weather in March, the fruit has spent more time on the plant – and the longer the berry is on the plant, the sweeter it gets. That all points to excellent flavour and quality in this year’s strawberries.”
