The English carrot harvest is going well with a good mix of sizes.
“We are seeing a bit of normality in this season’s harvest,” said Alan Hunt from English grower and processor FreshGro. “We may still end up short, but things are better than they have been.”
The weather has not been a big factor according to Alan, as they grow in different locations with different soil types and can usually always harvest somewhere.
The lockdowns this year have had an affect on the food service supply with volumes down around 30%, but retail sales have increased by 10%.
At this time of year normally the food service supply would be buzzing as everyone is out for Christmas parties, but even although the second lockdown has ended there are still limitations for the hotel and restaurant industry and Alan said that current volumes to food service are only 50% of what they were last year at this time.
Alan expects Christmas retail sales to be similar to last year.
FreshGro are the UK’s biggest supplier of Chantenay carrots which have done reasonably well this year according to Alan.
“We have good stocks of Chantenay, we did lose some supply to food service but it has picked again. People also tend to ‘trade up’ a bit for Christmas.”
FreshGro saw a good start this year in January and February, but Alan is cautious about 2021, as we have all learned that anything can happen.
For more information:
Alan Hunt
Freshgro
Tel: +44 1623 870 803
Email: adhunt@freshgro.co.uk
www.freshgro.co.uk