Crop Report

British courgettes arrive in mid June for a short but abundant season. Fast growing and full of freshness, they’re a brilliant summer staple. Perfect raw in salads, roasted or sauteed with fresh herbs or tempura battered and fried with a spicy dip.

We are now at the end of the Almería season, and availability remains very challenging across the melon category.

Additional cantaloupe stocks have been sourced from Honduras, which should help ease pressure on that variety. Honeydew and watermelon availability remains tight, although we are not expecting major shortages.

Galia remains the most challenging variety, with market-wide shortages leaving very limited stock available. Honeydew remains a short-term alternative to Galia should the need arise.

While this week will be difficult, Murcian fruit is expected to start arriving next week, which should help ease the pressure.

Heavy storms and flooding across key South African growing regions in May slowed crop development and delayed the start of harvesting.

Although growers are now harvesting at normal levels, the earlier disruption is still affecting loading schedules. 

Quality remains a key focus, particularly for easy peelers, which are more vulnerable to water-related defects. We are working closely with suppliers to manage these risks and maintain supply stability.

Despite these pressures, we do not currently expect significant shortages. We expect availability to return to normal at the beginning of August.

All transitions to new season British brassicas are now complete, with broccoli the final line to move across last week.

Red cabbage availability is becoming extremely tight as we near the end of the stored crop; concessions remain in place to support supply, but the coming weeks will be challenging.

To help maintain availability as the new season establishes, weight concessions continue for cauliflower (with no change to diameter) and sweetheart cabbage.

Air freight availability from Kenya has tightened significantly due to disruption associated with the Iran conflict, limiting the volume of product moving. Longer journeys are contributing to inconsistent quality and reduced shelf life. We continue to work with suppliers to mitigate these pressures and maintain supply continuity, and the situation appears to be improving.

We have now moved fully into the British raspberry season. 

However, colder night-time temperatures have slowed crop growth, creating some short-term pressure on availability.

Supply is expected to remain tight this week, but the position should improve into next week as higher temperatures support crop development.

Blueberry availability is expected to remain extremely tight over the next week, as recent colder weather has significantly slowed crop development.

With Morocco and Portugal now finished, market options are limited. We are exploring product from further afield to support British supply during this short-term pressure period.

Availability should begin to ease next week as supply conditions improve.

As we continue the transition to UK supply, availability remains variable. The pressure reflects a very wet winter followed by a delayed start to warmer weather, which has slowed the move into full production. As additional fields come into harvest, we expect supply to strengthen.

Passion fruit yields in Colombia are currently low, creating pressure on availability.

To maintain supply, stocks will need to be air-freighted for the next few weeks.