British cherry farmers are poised to celebrate their biggest annual harvest for more than 30 years after improved growing methods boosted quality and extended the season.
Figures from British Summer Fruits, a trade body, indicate that since the start of the season in May growers have produced 2,682 tonnes of cherries – 80% up on the 1,488 tonnes produced by the same time last year.
Tesco has more than doubled the amount of cherries sourced from British growers. Last year the supermarket bought more than 335 tonnes of British-grown cherries; this year it has taken more than 750 tonnes – a rise of 125%. It says sales are 80% up on the same time last year.
Waitrose sources its cherries from a family-owned farm, AR Neaves & Sons, in Doddington, Kent, which said this year’s sunny spring helped improve its harvest by more than 20%. The annual flowering of the cherry tree, which lasts up to three weeks, was helped by warm days and chilly nights which made the flowers thrive and the harvest abundant.
Cherries were once one of Britain’s most popular summer fruits. But traditional orchards were phased out because low yields made production uneconomic. Supermarkets turned to imports from Turkey, Spain and the US while British varieties became scarce. Production slumped to its lowest in 2000 when the entire British cherry industry produced just 400 tonnes.
British growers are getting higher yields by using dwarf root stock, grafted on to new tree varieties. These produce smaller trees that can be grown in plastic polytunnels, creating a consistent Mediterranean-style climate and makes the fruit easier to pick.
