Sam Sherring enjoys a berrylicious strawberry from a bumper crop this year. Photo / Doug Sherring
Strawberry lovers - rejoice.
The sun is set to shine on berry season, as we get set to eat enough strawberries to fill 67 rugby fields during Christmas.
After a patchy spring, sun is set to bask on commercial strawberry patches throughout the country - ensuring there will be enough stock for Kiwis to munch through during their annual love-affair with the sweet fruit treats.
Chris Fisher, Countdown merchandise manager, said in nearly every week of the year, New Zealanders' favourite fruit was bananas. But strawberries overtook them during the festive season.
"Bananas been the top-selling item at Countdown for several years. But at Christmas, it's the only few weeks of the year when strawberries bump bananas down to number two.
"The couple of weeks before Christmas is the only time of the year that bananas are not the most popular grocery item in our supermarkets. Strawberries overtaking them to become the number one product sold," he said.
Aucklanders buy more cherries and strawberries than the rest of the country, followed by Cantabrians.
Antoinette Laird, Foodstuffs NZ head of external relations, said strawberry supply was weather dependant.
"We're pretty confident that New World and Pak'nSave customers will be able to get their hands on all the strawberries they want and need this summer," she said.
The strawberry season was shaping up well, she said.
"It's a tricky thing to manage for growers and retailers alike as we generally sell around three times the volume we normally do in the three days leading into Christmas. The funny thing is that strawberries don't necessarily grow on cue. Pricing will vary over the season according to demand and supply," she said.
"In the Auckland region we have a couple of long-term suppliers - who are really more like partners. One, the Garelja family, has generations of experience growing the sweetest, reddest strawberries out in the rich soils of West Auckland. They pick, pack and deliver fresh into our stores, where happy customers clean us out daily," she said.
The other red and delicious product Kiwis look out for at this time of year is cherries.
Countdown's Fisher said strawberries were planted in May and the harvest starts in September or October. The plants are annuals so every year the patches are cleared and replanted.
NZ Gourmet has the biggest patches of strawberries in New Zealand, based in Auckland, Fisher said. Countdown works with farmers around the country to ensure a good supply as strawberries.
"Our love affair with strawberries at this time of year is partly because of their versatility across the Christmas menu, whether that's fruit salad, a plain fresh strawberry after a heavy meal, chocolate dipped for dessert, as part of a cheese platter, at the bottom of a champagne glass and of course on top of the long-standing Christmas favourite, pavlova with cream," he said.
"Strawberry plants love warm and dry climates and unfortunately so far this Spring has been particularly wet and cold. At Countdown we're working with a variety of growers around the country to ensure we have as many strawberries as possible to cover demand through the summer period," Fisher said.
"We're envisaging that the weather will start to come right for strawberry-growing as we hit the official launch of the summer season. We're aiming to have a bumper supply just in time for Santa's visit," he said.
Price predictions for Christmas are weather dependant but punnets or chips are now selling in Countdown for about $3.49 each or two for $6.
Laird said when people had had enough strawberries, they had other options.
"The other red and delicious product Kiwis look out for at this time of year is cherries. Last year's stonefruit season ran late thanks to the weather, but so far things are looking rather good. We kick off with fat, glossy cherries from the Hawkes Bay and move on down to Central Otago as they come on stream. Every now and then we get some the size of plums - there's simply nothing quite like them.
"Other summer produce eagerly awaited by customers includes fresh sweet corn, beans, vine-ripened tomatoes and peas. New Zealanders are spoiled for choice when it comes to quality produce and we're proud to be able to offer a fresh, delicious range for our customers up and down the country," Laird said.