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Strawberry lovers take note – a bumper crop of British fruit has just gone on sale at Tesco in time for Wimbledon finals weekend.
According to the supermarket chain, the recent mini heatwave has led to strawberries in some regions growing faster than planned. As a result of the extra availability, Tesco has bought an extra 150 tons of British grown strawberries and is selling 1 kg boxes at the special price of £4.
Tesco berry buyer Jon Lock said: “The recent mini heatwave not only produced a bumper crop of strawberries for growers in some regions but also helped raise [the fruit’s] sugar levels to make them extra sweet and juicy. As soon as we heard that some of our growers had got more than expected on their hands, we moved in to help.”
He added that with Wimbledon finals weekend round the corner, “we think that classic strawberries and cream will definitely be on many people’s shopping lists”.
The extra sunshine contributed to bumper strawberries in Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex, Herefordshire and Scotland. Grower Alastair Brooks, who owns a fruit farm near Faversham in Kent, said: “The slightest change in the weather can really have a big effect on production – and that happened recently with the mini heatwave after several weeks of cooler, wetter weather. The strawberries ripened much quicker, leaving us with a crop flush. We stagger our production to even out production throughout the season, but sometimes the weather can be very unpredictable.”
The 1kg boxes will be on sale in 1,800 Tesco stores across the UK. A standard 400g punnet of strawberries at Tesco costs £2.
Strawberry grower Alastair Brooks
