Strawberry shortages during Wimbledon fortnight

The Wimbledon tennis tournament, which ended last weekend, is synonymous with strawberries and cream. However, this year, the UK faced a significant shortage of British strawberries during the peak sales period following the hottest June on record, which brought forward production and caused June-bearers to come to flush at the same time as everbearing and day-neutral varieties. This meant volumes were above average last month, however the knock-on effect is that major suppliers have reported an estimated shortage of 10-20 per cent for July.

Depending on the weather in July, volumes are expected to return to normal levels in late July/early August. Fruit availability in April was considerably lower than in the spring of 2022 because of the colder weather, lower light levels, and the slow start to spring production, but volumes recovered in May and June when the temperatures increased.