IlluMyFi

Soaring UK production is helping sate record demand for ‘ultimate superfood’ but growers want more help from retailers

Whether they add them to smoothies or salads or just pop them straight in their mouths, Britons are eating more blueberries than ever before. But whereas supermarket shelves used to be filled with imports, fruit growers are hailing a “British blueberry boom”.

Sales of British blueberries are up by 13% this year, despite challenging conditions for growers, according to British Berry Growers (BBG), the industry trade group. It said the rise was a “clear indicator of the rising consumer demand for healthier food choices and a testament to the quality of British blueberries”.

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21.12.24 12:00

by theguardian.com

UK house price predictions for 2025: with pay rising and rates falling, they’ll...

Nothing seems to stop the relentless march of property values, even with a stamp duty increase looming

It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly.

But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.

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