Crop Report

Our summer range launched this week. The Summer Picks brochure is available online and is packed with seasonal British produce to inspire your summer menus. 

While there are currently no issues with cauliflower, the very dry conditions in the key growing area of Lincolnshire, could see some quality issues with cracking curds, creamy/yellow curds and reduced head weights. Our procurement and technical teams are working with suppliers, and we will keep 
customers updated.

We are expecting the UK season to come to an end earlier than originally anticipated. We are working with our growers to try to minimise any gap in supply but will be using a mix of stored crop and imported volumes to carry us through the next two to three weeks until the new UK season crop starts at mid to end May. Concessions are in place to support availability.

We are nearing the end of the early season South African crop and will transition to the Eastern Cape from early June. The next month is expected to remain challenging for small sizes. 

Additional late season Spanish Verna lemons have been sourced to support availability. However, this variety is naturally larger and will not resolve the shortage of small lemons, which is likely to continue into June.

Blueberries: Availability remains extremely tight as rising temperatures in Morocco continue to affect both quality and yield. Conditions are expected to remain challenging until the British season begins. To support availability, we are introducing additional countries of origin, with the first arrivals due this week.

Raspberries: Volumes are strong, but quality has been inconsistent, creating market wide availability concerns. While we have avoided disruption so far, this remains a difficult period, and we are working closely with suppliers to maximise supply.

Blackberries: Quality challenges are emerging during the fruit’s journey through the supply chain. We have increased quality checks and are working with suppliers to minimise any impact on customers.

Volumes from Spain remain significantly reduced following earlier adverse weather, which created a planting gap that has yet to recover. We expect market shortages this week, with florets facing similar pressure and likely shortfalls.

While these challenges are expected to persist through the week, we should see some improvement after this. The transition to the UK will be in June.

Concessions remain in place for cabbages on weight due to earlier poor growing conditions. Oedema continues to affect some cabbages, and a separate concession has been agreed to 
manage this.

Italian fruit is expected to finish in May, ahead of the new Chilean season. Contingency plans are in place, including holding additional volumes in controlled storage to support a smooth transition.

Unseasonal weather in Central America has brought the growing season to an early close. To maintain availability during the transition to the Spanish season, we have introduced a concession allowing larger fruit.