Last year the British public ate their way through 8,000 tonnes of British strawberries during the Wimbledon fortnight.
"Strawberry sales in the UK traditionally increase during Wimbledon, in addition to this if the weather is good retailers can factor in a 30% increase in sales, said John Gray from Angus Soft Fruit.
"We don't have sales figures for this year yet, but are expecting to have sold around 7,500 tonnes," explains Laurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruits. "This figure is slightly lower than 2013 as the season started three weeks earlier, so reached its peak just before the tennis tournament. The early start also means we will have a bumper crop of strawberries this season which will continue into mid-December, with an expected production of 51,000 tonnes." This an increase of 10% on last year.
The supermarket Morrison’s renamed its strawberries “Strawmurrays” as a gesture of support to Andy Murray during the Wimbledon tennis championships. Sadly he didn't make the finals this year but the according to the supermarket strawberry sales increased more than 50% when they went on sale.
Wimbledon is always a peak time for strawberry consumption as, when the season used to be just six weeks long it reached its peak in the Wimbledon fortnight - hence the tradition of strawberries and cream on centre court.
Consumers in the UK eat an average 1,758 tonnes of strawberries in a normal week in the summer season.
