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The first
locally grown Scottish Strawberry of the season have finally
arrived and are being snapped up by local supermarkets.
Strawberries are always a sure sign of summer’s arrival and
these ones are extra special because they are grown locally
and delivered directly to local Dundee ASDA stores by the
grower himself to ensure ultimate quality & freshness.
These first strawberries were grown in Arbroath in Angus on a
newly established Strawberry Farm by Andrew Cranston. The farm
operation in Arbroath has been setup in February by Well Pict
European-Scotland to cover the existing gap in the demand for
high quality locally grown berries in Scotland.
Andrew, who is originally from the boarders, is a 4th
generation strawberry grower. After spending the last few
years growing strawberries in Kent, he has returned to
Scotland to do what he does best. He is confident that he is
now producing amongst the freshest & tastiest strawberries in
Scotland.
Scottish customers have long realised that Scottish
strawberries are very different to the imported alternatives
and after a long winter of eating Spanish imports, a return to
the famously sweet and delicate Scottish berry is truly a
pleasure. The Scots are very particular about their berries
and are very supportive of the home grown crop. Sales of
strawberries in Scotland more than double during the Scottish
growing season, which is a clear sign of the huge demand for
locally grown & produced berries.
The National Farmers Union Scotland has recently been asking
supermarkets to increase the amount of local produce that they
buy from local suppliers and reduce the amount of food miles
incurred. They continue to say that many foods are already
produced in Scotland to a very high standard and it makes no
sense to ship in equivalents from around the world. The UK has
become a nation overly reliant on imported food and Scottish
suppliers are facing major financial pressure as a consequence
of cheep imports.
Andrew harvests his strawberries every day and delivers to his
local stores six times a week as part of ASDA’s Local Choice
campaign. This way local berries are sold in local stores and
consumed by local people. He commented "Customers really want
to support their local farms and growers, as they know that
their money is going to remain in the local economy."
Asda have actively encouraged local growers and farmers to
deliver their produce directly to their local store instead of
supplying via the regional depot. This ensures that berries
have an extra day of shelf life as the ‘depot day’ is removed.
This means that the product is fresher, tastier and lasts
longer. It is especially important with a product as delicate
as a Scottish strawberry, which are possibly the most delicate
of all strawberries, to do all that is possible to extend
shelf life. Furthermore, delivering locally ensures that food
travels far fewer ‘food’ miles, which benefits the environment
by reducing harmful emissions from fleet transportation.
Scotland is one of seven regions around Britain where locally
grown strawberries are received by 80 local stores. Richard
Hatherley, ASDA’s fruit buyer says of the campaign, "The
concept of ‘Local’ is really impacting upon customers buying
behaviour and we are noticing an ever increasing demand for
locally grown produce. It is a fantastic development that
actively encourages Scottish growers even further to grow
local foods for local consumption". ASDA are very supportive
of this initiative and are determined to develop and grow
local wherever possible.
AMS Marketing will be supplying Twenty Two ASDA stores in
Scotland with local Strawberries this season. The season
starts in mid June and continues to October.
The Scottish Strawberry industry is now worth many millions of
pounds, which gives a tremendous boost for the local rural
economies, many of which still depend on agriculture.
19/06/2006
This article has been published into FPJ. Click
here to
view the article. |
Integrating
with the local community: barbeque organised by the local church and Well
Pict Scotland
