This year’s bumper crop of cherries, said to be 40% more than in 2021, have begun robustly hitting the shelves at supermarkets across the UK.
More than 6,000 tonnes of the delicious stemmed fruit will be in stores through the end of September, according to new data from trade association Love Fresh Cherries.
“This year’s British cherry crop is set to be another extremely healthy and tasty British crop, helped by the glorious weather we’ve been experiencing over the last few months,” Matt Hancock, Love Fresh Cherries spokesperson, said. With exceptional growing conditions and crops harvesting earlier than last year’s late one, we’re looking forward to getting an abundance of British cherries into consumers hands this summer.”
Cherries actually have been in supermarkets since mid-June but the glut of them will be coming more frequently as growers in Kent, Hereford, Staffordshire, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Essex and Scotland begin to ramp up their operations.
It has been a great start so far, fueled by a cold winter and strong blossom followed by ideal light conditions. Cherries are expected to be plump and sizeable this season.
With weather not a concern, one of the biggest challenges the group says is having the workers to harvest them. Brexit and a lack of labour to pick across all of the UK have made for less than ideal conditions, though Love Fresh Cherries says “growers are continuing to pick and manage their crops the best that they can and remain in a positive frame of mind.”
