The UK strawberry season is slowly getting underway. Fruit from glasshouses has been available for a while, and the early heated tunnel fruit has started. Volumes are expected to increase after this week's good weather, although, given the weekend forecast, this may be short-lived.
"The main UK strawberry season will start at the end of April or beginning of May if this nice weather continues," said Ben Goodchild from Nationwide Produce. "The Dutch season has started a bit early this year, and we are seeing good volumes. Prices seem to be stable, nothing crazy, and they should start to ease as volumes increase.
"Hopefully, the Dutch season will be a bit more peaceful and less stressful than the Spanish season was. Conditions were cold and wet at the beginning of the season, then lots of fruit came on just before Easter and collided with the start of the Dutch season. It has so far been a very poor season for Spanish growers."
Ben added that, even though produce prices have increased at source, the main rise in costs we are currently seeing is in transport and logistics, largely due to the unrest in the Middle East. "The cost of inbound air, sea, and road freight has increased significantly, as have our internal freight costs within our own fleet of vehicles. We are trying to absorb these internal costs as best we can to protect and serve our customers, but we cannot continue absorbing them for an extended period.
"Hopefully, we will see a good season for UK growers, with some nice warm weather and steady production. Everyone is under great pressure at the moment; it would be nice for lady luck to be on the side of UK growers for once and provide a busy yet steady season for all produce."
For more information:
Ben Goodchild
Nationwide Produce
Tel: +44 1775 667100
Email: [email protected]
www.nationwideproduce.com
