Three weeks of sunshine in the south of England has been a boon for strawberry growers, who have produced a staggering haul of the lush fruit ahead of Easter.
Typically, strawberry season starts in May and peaks around June or July, but the recent sunny spells mean the British-grown fruit will be in supermarkets in time sooner.
West Sussex grower The Summer Berry Company, based in Colworth, near Chichester, said the recent warmer weather has helped it produce 200 tonnes of strawberries - 50 tonnes more than by the same time last year.
Strawberries take anywhere from six to 11 months until they are ready to pick, depending on whether they are grown in a glasshouse or tunnel.
Commercial director Jack Darnes said: "We're really excited about the boost in strawberry production to kick off the first big harvests of the British season.
"The warm weather, combined with our innovative growing methods, means the plants are healthy and producing lush, sweet-tasting fruit.
"Strawberry plants love the English spring and summer climate; not too hot, not too cold with warm days and cool nights. This is why we produce the best strawberries in the world."
But the early glut of strawberries won’t reduce the amount available later in the year and growers insist the increased strawberry yield won’t have any impact on the amount available at Wimbledon this summer.
Bartosz Pinkosz, UK operations director at The Summer Berry Company explained the glass houses and tunnels produce strawberries from the shoulder months, and in the field in the summer months meaning they can produce the fruit all year round.
“The full year production is not compromised. The fruit for Wimbledon is produced from our tunnels which are two to three weeks away from the first pick,” he told The Independent.
Tesco berry buyer Callum Baker said that the growth burst would mean an estimated 500,000 punnets of strawberries arriving at its stores in East and West Sussex.
He said that the varieties grown were malling centenary and fandango, which were chosen for their "eating quality and flavour".
"The arrival in stores of the first spring-grown British strawberries of the year creates a feel-good factor because it signifies the start of the UK fruit season and that summer is on the way,” he said.
"But their availability also brings a cheer from shoppers because British-grown strawberries are considered to be the best in the world because of our climate. "Strawberries taste naturally sweeter when ripened in periods of sunny weather because it boosts their natural sugars.
"Dry conditions also enhance their flavour as the lack of rain helps make the fruit firmer and more flavourful."
Last year, The Summer Berry Company, together with another grower, Wicks Farm - both based in West Sussex - became the first UK growers to produce commercial quantities of strawberries all year long. They produced 38 tonnes of the fruit for the festive period, an increase of 40 per cent on the same period in 2023.
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