The soft fruit supplement accompanying this week's Journal reveals what an exciting time it is for strawberries and other soft fruits.

With growers and suppliers working closely together to improve performance, Rick Storey of TNS Superpanel has revealed results that show a pleasing performance for strawberries and raspberries for the 52-week period ending April 27.

Storey said: 'Strawberries have seen excellent growth in recent years and the market is now worth £213 million, although growth rate slowed considerably since last year, we are still seeing growth of 18 per cent in real terms.' With regards to regional performance London is not surprisingly top of the tree but other regions where strawberry sales are high are the south and the east of England.

Over the last year 69 per cent of UK households purchased strawberries at some point. Storey believes the opportunity for continued growth comes from building on the shoulders of the seasons past. He said: 'Looking at last year on a four-week basis, the two biggest growth rates came in four-week ending December 8, followed by four-week ending October 13.' In stark contrast, July of last year, which is the usual peak season for strawberries, saw a seven per cent decrease on 2001 results.

Storey said: 'With Wimbledon fortnight looming, the importance of these two weeks to the market is undeniable. Strawberry sales over this period usually represent around nine-12.5 per cent of annual turnover. 2002 saw an 18 per cent decrease on the previous Wimbledon fortnight.' All eyes will be fixed to see how this year's tournament and corresponding weather affects sales.

Meanwhile, the raspberry market is continuing to grow rapidly. The market is worth £41m and there are no signs of it slowing with a value growth rate of 51 per cent. Storey said: 'Similar growth rates are observed in volume terms, implying minimal price differentiation.' The raspberry market is a far less developed market in comparison to strawberries, and according to Storey the opportunity for continued growth in raspberries lies in expanding its buyer base.

'The way to grow the raspberry market is to encourage new buyers. By seeking to extend the summer season as strawberries have, the market development of raspberries should be assured,' he said.

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