Waitrose

Waitrose is introducing weather-blemished pears from its British farms, following some unexpected poor weather, which has damaged farmers’ orchards.

The pears, which have marks on the skin from hail and other adverse weather conditions, will come with a minimum of eight pears in a bag, and will be available in Waitrose branches from October.

The supermarket is supporting British farmers due to the unseasonal weather which has affected their crops. The pears’ flavour remains as delicious as ever despite the marking on the skin. The bag will contain conference, comice or concorde varieties.

Kent fruit farmer Clive Baxter, who has been a supplier to Waitrose for over 20 years, has lost approximately 40 per cent of his fruit with hail marks to the skin in one large orchard alone.

Other orchards have between 10 and 15 per cent of their crop hit with hail marks.

Baxter said: 'We’re reliant on the weather, and unfortunately this year we were hit by a series of storms at a crucial point in the pears’ growing process. They taste just as delicious, so enabling Waitrose customers to buy the pears instead of them going to waste is fantastic.'

In 2011, Waitrose began selling ‘ugly’ weather-damaged apples from the UK, when growers were left with damaged crops after severe frosts.

Greg Sehringer, Waitrose pear buyer, said: 'We’re happy to be able to support British farmers. We are lucky that our customers are savvy enough to understand the unpredictability of farming and to trust that the fruit will be just as delicious, even if the pears don’t look as perfect as usual.'

Topics