Resurgence of the British cherry industry
Over the last 50 years the industry has been in a seemingly unstoppable retreat. Bad weather, the soaring costs of labour and inability to keep up with the times saw the British cherry sector shrink in favour of cheaper imports from the likes of Turkey, Spain and the US. It's been a sad time for the fruit that was once Britain's number one.
By 2000 the UK was achieving sales of just 400 tonnes of domestically produced cherries, but this year growers are anticipating production of around 2,000 tonnes, according to leading retailer Tesco.
More growth is expected next year when there are anticipations of growers producing 5,000 tonnes thanks to new tree varieties and moredn methods of production.
Some growers are hopeful that the industry will be able to satisfy domestic demand within around 10 years time.
Cherry grower Tom Hulme, who has a 20-acre crop of cherries in Ash, Kent, said: "The reason we are seeing production increasing is due to two specific factors.
"We have improvements in the management of growing techniques, largely to do with putting trees under plastic to keep the rain off, which is the enemy of the cherry grower. And the second reason is improvements in root-stock technology. It's not impossible that in 10 years' time we can be self-sufficient for the UK season."
Tesco stone fruit buyer Marie-Claire Lisk said: "More and more British growers are now seeing higher yields by using dwarf root-stock, grafted onto new tree varieties. "These produce much smaller trees which can be grown in plastic tunnels, creating a micro climate with temperatures similar to the Mediterranean.
"And these new, smaller cherry trees can now be picked by workers on foot rather than ladders, cutting costs still further and enabling English cherries to compete with foreign rivals for the first time in many decades."
Source: www.googl.com/hostednews
