Warmer and drier weather during some of August will have cheered many fruit growers, and certainly UK vine growers are predicting a possible record harvest. The Prognosfruit forecast for the European top-fruit crop was, on balance, optimistic. The marketing season will start with a positive background based on a relatively low crop, no overlap with the southern hemisphere, and empty stocks from the previous season. The trend for EU pears is again for a decreased crop. Our national crop figures are hardly significant, but it was sad to see the UK forecast blank in this year’s table of non-EU northern hemisphere producers.
Cherry growers have had a difficult summer. Despite a challenging year, with cherry yields down by as much as 50%, the judges of the cherry classes at the National Cherry and Soft Fruit Show were full of praise for this year’s entries. In the end, the only way of separating the winners was on taste, as visually they were all so good. The optimism at the Show in July was followed by frustration for growers supplying supermarkets. They report that there is no loyalty to UK fruit from supermarket buyers. The reduced UK crop did not attract higher prices as buyers just turned to imported fruit, and supplying supermarkets means expensive packaging and high marketing costs. It’s good to see that over 100 MPs are urging retailers to create a ‘Buy British’ section on their websites and getting behind the NFU’s ‘Buy British’ initiative that asks retailers to commit to signposting British produce.
The NextGen Fruit Group is designed to bring young people in the fruit industry together. A comprehensive report on a NextGen meeting that culminated in a visit to Clock House Farm highlights that the UK has a strong generation of growers coming through who share the same commitment to moving the industry forward. If you are in your 20s or 30s and work in the fruit industry, then joining the NextGen Fruit Group is a smart move.
Steven Vale’s detailed reports from Delphy’s ISFC 2023 Field Days showcase innovative approaches to soft-fruit production via seminars plus a tour of several Dutch soft-fruit growers and propagators. A new strawberry plant production concept means being able to provide growers with fresh plants every six weeks without any cold storage and paves the way to boost yields.
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