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UK soft fruit supplier Berry Gardens has reported on a strong season of berry sales in the UK, announcing that double-digit sales growth for the category led to berries topping the sales value league for all UK fruit sales in 2011.

Berry Gardens noted that berries outperformed 'all other grocery sectors' with six consecutive months of expenditure and volume growth in 2011, the first year that the berry category has been the largest in the fruit sector.

Berries have, for the first time, toppled apples and bananas as the sales value leader in the UK, with the category achieving 18.4 per cent market share of the £4.1bn (€4.6bn) UK fruit market.

'This vindicates the ongoing efforts of businesses such as Berry Gardens in creating a well-organised growers' community which works effectively with the retail outlets,' the group said.

Key to the development of the berries sector has been the establishment of a strong growers' supply chain to maintain the well-structured retail offering now available to the consumer throughout the season.

'The current excellent market position for berries has been achieved through hard work, cooperation, investment across the supply chain and listening to the consumer,' said Nick Marston, managing director of Berry Gardens. 'As Kantar data demonstrates, working together has achieved 92 per cent sales growth in seven years with UK sales for 2011 estimated at £764 million (€863m).'