Warm spring helps deliver bumper crop of British blueberries

British blueberries are the latest fruit to benefit from the warmest spring on record, with the harvest up by almost a quarter so far this year.

- Sarah Butler

Growers say the weather has produced an early crop with more and larger berries while new varieties can deliver higher yields and better resilience. About 5,133 tonnes are expected by the end of August, up significantly from almost 4,187 tonnes by the same point last year.

Sales of the fruit are already 9% higher year on year as growing awareness of their health properties and the availability of a healthy crop underpin demand.

Daniel Martin, the group commercial director at S&A Produce, says: "This blueberry season has seen a really positive early start, around two weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to strong light levels and an absence of rain.