You may have noticed the lack of strawberries on your supermarket shelves recently.
In August, unusually high temperatures in Europe led to excessive yields, which have depleted the plants for the rest of the season.
Worryingly, imports from Holland & Belgium have significantly dropped, causing a price spike. To give you some perspective, a recent grower indicated that current yields are only half of what they were in the same period last year.
We're facing a severe fruit shortage with the Scottish season over and the Dutch and Belgian seasons ending early. Even with upcoming shipments from various other countries, the situation could affect supply until the end of the year.
There are alternatives like blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries, that could be used to fill the gaps but that in turn could cause a short-term issue with those fruits. There is also still a consistent supply of frozen strawberry if this can be used for hotels making compotes etc.
