The unexpected surge in production has meant that many growers across the UK have been left with more of one of Britain’s favourite home-grown fruit than they anticipated.
But now Tesco has stepped in to help out growers and to make sure that none of the cherries go to waste they will be selling kilo boxes at the discounted price of £5 each.
Regular 400g punnets of cherries cost £3 so to buy a kilo would normally cost £7.50.
Tesco Stone Fruit Buying Manager Maria Katsipi said:
“The fantastic UK weather in the last week has brought on the cherries faster than expected with many growers seeing production about 10-15 per cent higher than normal for this time of year.
“The quality of the fruit this year is first class with soft flesh, ripe with juice and an unrivalled sweetness and taste.
“We’re very happy to help out our British growers and customers at the same time.”
As soon as Tesco heard about the rare large crop it moved to help British growers and prevent cherries from going to waste on farms.
One grower who has supplied Tesco for many years is Angus Davison of Haygrove, based in Ledbury, Herefordshire, who said:
“Following a mild, kind spring, we have enjoyed prolonged sunshine, generously high light levels, and little rain for many weeks.
“This has resulted in an abundance of healthy, extra sweet, perfect cherries being picked at peak ripeness.
“With an above normal crop we are thankful for Tesco’s action, which allows us to avoid waste, and to provide more home-grown, highest quality, nutritious British cherries to be enjoyed by the nation’s consumers.”
The extra sunshine contributed to bumper cherries right across Britain including Kent, Norfolk, Herefordshire and Scotland.
The kilo boxes of cherries will go on sale at nearly 850 Tesco stores across the UK from Wednesday July 13.
Earlier this year, Tesco teamed up with Unilever to launch a ‘Use Up Day’ campaign that helps families save money and waste less food. The campaign provides a range of helpful resources, including a variety of recipes that make use of commonly thrown away ingredients.
