Fresh fruit supplier AG Thames has welcomed the first delivery of domestically grown Sweet Sensation pears into Sainsbury's, a move that it says offers 'much needed support for British growers'.
First planted at a 7ha orchard at East Malling Research (EMR) in Kent in May 2011 by Newstairs – the innovation arm of AG Thames – the pears were harvested in September 2012 with an initial yield of around 20 tonnes.
'This is an exciting time for the industry as we welcome the very first harvest of home-grown Sweet Sensation pears to Sainsbury’s,' said Francis Wheatley, director of Newstairs. 'Although currently available in Holland, the Sweet Sensation pear has not, until now, been grown in the UK.
'The overall pear market here is worth almost £166m (€207m), with only 27 per cent of that grown in Britain,' Wheatley continued. 'Specifically, there is a lack of British-grown blush pears in the market – which is the biggest growth area in the sector – with the majority being imported from Italy and the USA.
'Taking this into account, we wanted to grasp this opportunity, in order to boost the UK pear market, support British growers and reduce food miles, with an overall aim of planting 100ha of Sweet Sensation over the coming years, here in the UK.'
Wheatley said that, through its EMR collaboration, Newstairs has been able to access cutting-edge industry knowledge and research on the sector, enabling the growth of the first Sweet Sensations in Britain.
'We believe the future of UK-grown Sweet Sensation pears is very promising and we’re looking forward to hearing the feedback from this exciting first harvest,' Wheatley added. 'All going well, further orchards are planned for planting in the winter/spring of 2012-13.'
From taste tests carried out by AG Thames at the BBC Good Food Show, 84 per cent of tasters said they would consider buying Sweet Sensation.
'Supporting British growers is a key focus for us here at Sainsbury’s so we are delighted to be the primary UK retailer to stock the first home-grown Sweet Sensation pears,' noted Sainsbury's Amy King. 'Reducing food miles where possible is another important aspect to us when dealing with suppliers so we’re pleased that AG Thames is able to provide us with a tasty product that isn’t going to have a major impact on the environment. We’re looking forward to hearing what our customers think of the new home grown fruit and are excited to see what the future brings for UK Sweet Sensation.'
