British cherry growers are reaping the benefits of improved growing methods. The improved quality of their produce and the general extended season has is yielding the biggest harvest in three decades. The numbers prove it.
British Summer Fruits says that there is an 80% increase in this year's harvest compared to last year. In total, UK cherry harvest for this year tops at 2,682 tons while last year's yield was only 1,488 tons.
The UK's largest retailer, Tesco, has more than doubled the cherries it sourced from local producers, Horticulture Week reports. A good 335 tons will go to Tesco.
Haygrove Growing of Herefordshire representing the grower side, said through its managing director James Waltham, "Year-on-year performance of cherry orchards in general is far more consistent than it used to be, bringing greater yield and superior quality fruit."
This year's yield has provided a surplus for British needs. This is in stark comparison to the 2000 harvest which produced a paltry yield of only 400 tons, the Western Daily Express UK reports. During this time, cheaper imports from Turkey, Spain, and America became the consumer's option-but not by choice.
Tom Emmett, Tesco cherry buyer, said, "Shoppers prefer British cherries as they're considered to be amongst the best in the world - not only the richness of their taste but also the juiciness of their flesh and overall texture."
He adds, "At the moment demand for British cherries exceeds supply. The good news is that by the end of the decade we should be able to completely meet that demand for the whole for the whole British season. That's an amazing turnaround from just ten years ago."
New techniques in growing cherries are, in large part, the driving force behind this harvest boom. By using dwarf root stock grafted to new cherry varieties, the results are smaller trees that can be grown in plastic polytunnels. These polytunnels create the perfect Mediterranean-like temperature and makes it easier to actually pick out the fruits.
