The UK has seen an exceptionally good spring as far as weather conditions go; this is in complete contrast to last year, when some parts of the country saw prolonged heavy rain, which delayed the planting of the new crops.
"We have had a very easy spring in Cornwall," said Greville Richards, from Southern England Farms. "We expect a very early start to the season, we should be harvesting pointed cabbage by mid-May, broccoli and courgettes around the 20th, and cauliflower by the end of May."
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"We want to be in full production from the 1st of June, and our customers want to start with British produce as soon as possible."
Conditions have been a bit dry this week in Cornwall and in other parts of the country, but a lot of rain is expected from Saturday on, which will give the plants plenty of water.
"The crops are looking fantastic so far with size uniformity and good quality."
Greville said he has not noticed any consequences of the bad weather in the Spanish production but has heard that the quality of the broccoli was less than normal.
"There has been a big push to get back to British supply, the British Growers Association has done a lot of work to get local produce back on the shelves."
For more information:
Greville Richards
SEF
Tel: +44 1736 850066
Email: grev@sefltd.com
www.sefltd.com