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Ribena owner to invest £200,000 to strengthen blackcurrants
The UK blackcurrant harvest is expected to run about 10% below the 10,000-tonne average as wet winter conditions, spring hail and heatwaves strain bushes.
Suntory Beverage & Food, the owner of Ribena, plans to invest £200,000 to help UK blackcurrant bushes better withstand extreme weather stress, after this season’s conditions reduced output. The investment comes as the blackcurrant harvest gets under way across key growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent, and Scotland.
The Guardian Business reports the harvest is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes. Growers cited a sequence of disruptions, including one of the wettest winters on record for parts of the UK, localised frosts and hail in spring, and heatwaves in June and July that scorched plants and caused some berries to drop early.
The article also notes that limited rainfall ahead of the harvest finishing in early August could lead to smaller fruits. While some crops may benefit from the heat, soft fruit growers warned that strawberries and other plants may struggle later in the season as overheating increases stress.
According to the report, Harriet Prosser, an agronomist at Suntory Beverage & Food, said the season has been exceptionally challenging for blackcurrant bushes, with weather records occurring repeatedly as conditions continue to shift. Jo Hilditch, chair of the Blackcurrant Foundation trade association and a Herefordshire grower, said farming is taking place in a different climate than even a decade ago.