Top of the crops: record heatwaves help deliver bumper UK berry harvest

Подробности

Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries have done particularly well this year. Photograph: Lia Toby/PA View image in fullscreen Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries have done particularly well this year. Photograph: Lia Toby/PA Farming Top of the crops: record heatwaves help deliver bumper UK berry harvest Investment in climate-resilient irrigation enables this year’s haul to rise 6% on 2025’s already bigger-than-usual yield

Prefer the Guardian on Google British farmers have faced a sweltering summer tested by heatwaves, wildfires and water shortages – but a bumper berry harvest could prove a rare bright spot.

With two-thirds of the harvest now picked, this year’s haul is 6% up on last year’s already unusually large crop, according to British Berry Growers (BBG). Volumes of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries picked have been particularly strong, the trade body said.

The hot conditions have helped the berries grow rapidly and most UK berry crops are grown under polytunnels in the UK on drip irrigation, insulating them from the punishing heat, the trade body said.

There are, however, fears late season strawberry production will be slower than hoped in early autumn as plants become exhausted from heavy cropping during the heatwave, while blackcurrant production is expected to be down 10%.