As Halloween fans get ready to enjoy the spooky festivities, Tesco have warned that there could be a rise in demand for pumpkins this year.
The supermarket have issued the warning as party-goers gear up for the spooky holiday after being forced to spend Halloween in lockdown last year.
Tesco's supplier, Oakley Farms, who are one of the biggest pumpkin growers, have advised that they anticipate demand to grow by at least 15 per cent this year.
The good news is that the the farm has reported a good quality crop, which means Halloween fans get can their hands on a few pumpkins for carving or decorating their haunted homes.
However, Tesco is urging people not to carve pumpkins just yet, as they won't last until Halloween.
The warning of soaring demands come after there were reports of potential pumpkin shortages due to a lack of lorry drivers.
Tesco pumpkin buyer Emily Hampson said: “We are anticipating demand to be very strong following the disappointment of Halloween parties being cancelled last year due to lockdown.
“Our pumpkins went into stores at the weekend and if bought now, they will last well in your homes until Halloween so long as you don’t carve them until a couple of days before.
“The Sweet Culinary variety is already proving popular, especially with vegans who not only make traditional pies and soup out of them but also use them as centrepiece dishes.”
Halloween fans are not only looking to just get their hands on any pumpkins, as the wide range available these days means that shoppers are more selective.
Like so many other things, pumpkins now come in a whole variety of different styles, and the current craze is for the Novelty ‘Red Devil’ and ‘White Ghost’ varieties which saw demand increase by more than 60 percent last year.
However, fans of the classic carving pumpkin have nothing to fear, as the original pumpkin is still the most popular.
Tesco's newest seasonal addition, Autumnal Squash, has also reportedly been incredibly popular and it is anticipated that the demand will skyrocket by 300 percent this month.
Oakley farms manager Steve Whitworth said: “The quality this year is fantastic and over the last few months we have had just the right amount of sunshine and rain.
The farm works hand in hand with Tesco to make sure that there is minimal pumpkin waste.
“We are also seeing less pumpkins go to waste each year as both us and Tesco give whatever surplus we have left over to food charities like FareShare. Last year our surplus pumpkins and courgettes led to more than 310,000 meals being created to feed people experiencing food poverty.”
Tesco’s pumpkins range is as follows:
- Carving – in standard, large and giant sizes
- Munchkin
- Sweet Culinary
- Novelty including devil (red) and ghost (white) types
- Autumnal Squash
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