One of the UK’s largest cherry growers, FGA Farming, has warned that volumes of the iconic seasonal fruit will be reduced this year, although growers in Scotland have not fared as badly as those in southern England.
Speaking to Freshplaza, Jon Clark from FGA’s parent company, Fruit Growers Alianza, said that the company had lost between 50% and 80% of its crop in Kent, while growers in the Midlands had lost around one third, with Scottish yields likely to be reduced by around 20%. The varieties Kordia and Lapin have been particular badly affected. “We had a strange winter with late chill hours, and pollination in the spring was interrupted by a cold spell; this was the case throughout Kent. The agronomists can’t find a sound reason for this phenomenon which has never been seen before,” he said. “We have had worse growing conditions in the past but have never seen such low volumes as a result of pollination followed by a large June drop”.
Jon Hillary, Cherry Product Manager at Driscoll’s, added, “So, whilst quantity is down, quality is certainly up, which is good news as it means that consumers can get their hands on the best possible tasting British cherries. We have seen a lower tonnage than expected so far because of an extended period of wet and rainy weather leading up to and during the first half of May”.
Underlining the fact that conditions appear to have been better further north, Matthew McIntyre at McIntyre Fruits, who grows cherries near Blairgowrie in Scotland told the website, “We are expecting a reasonable crop, the earlier varieties will not have a heavy crop, but the later ones are looking much better, overall we expect around 80% of our normal volume this season. We have had some very hot weather, but this has not pushed the cherries on too far. We still have a long way to go – the first picking will be around 20 August and the Scottish weather can be very unpredictable.”