Europeans keen on strawberries in winter usually need to rely on crops imported from the Middle East with a significant carbon footprint. However LED tech may soon enable growers to continue supplying local produce through the winter. London (PA Media/dpa) – Consumers in the UK are set to see fresh British-grown strawberries widely available this Christmas after a firm extended the season to 12 months with new technology. The Summer Berry Company, one of the UK’s leading fruit producers, is now growing British strawberries at a commercial scale all year round with the help of LED technology through the colder months. The investment reduces the site’s reliance on fossil fuels, with the system using a mix of renewable heat and power, LED lighting and energy storage to recreate spring conditions indoors. The firm installed a combined heat and power (CHP) plant on the farm which burns gas to generate electricity, which in turn powers 2,600 LED units which create artificial sunlight, giving plants the impression that it is April, rather than December. In the greenhouse, the LEDs hang above the rows of plants to aid photosynthesis during the darkest months, and fans in the LED units then blow heat produced by the lights down towards the crop, further reducing its energy use. The greenhouses are heated to between 18C and 22C throughout the winter. The development marks a major shift for the industry, which has traditionally relied on imports between November and March. The new technology means the British company – and potentially others abroad – can now supply fresh strawberries to retailers 365 days a year while cutting food miles from Middle East imports, which have historically fulfilled consumer demand during the winter. As a result, the industry is expecting to produce fruit over winter of higher quality than typical Egyptian or Spanish imports while potentially cutting around 400 tonnes brought in from overseas. The Summer Berry Company said it was on track to double volumes previously grown in winter to just over 400 tonnes in the current 2025 to 2026 season. The growing area has also doubled, expanding from 1.8 hectares to 3.6 hectares. “Typically, the demand for winter strawberries has been fulfilled by flying them in from countries like Egypt and Jordan but we believe our new technology provides a far superior-tasting fruit which is less energy intensive to grow at our farm in West Sussex,” Bartosz Pinkosz, UK operations director at The Summer Berry Company, said. The following information is not intended for publication pa dpa coh
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