Covid pandemic 'disastrous' for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire cider makers

One cider maker says trade has gone off a "cliff edge" since March

Thousands of litres of cider made for summer events will be wasted due to the pandemic, according to producers of the alcoholic apple drink.

Colemans Cider in East Yorkshire said 20,000 litres-worth of cider apples were sitting in store after a bumper year.

Steve Jackson, from Colemans, said it was "disastrous".

Many cider makers in the region say the drop in business means much of the current crop will not be sold.

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Steve Jackson said the company had hoped for a "big year" in 2020

Mr Jackson said Colemans, based in Driffield, had high hopes for 2020, before coronavirus meant weddings and festivals were cancelled.

"It's been disastrous quite frankly," he said.

"We were set to open 1 April in new premises with a new bar but it all just went.

"It just fell off a cliff face as far as we're concerned."

Guy Williams said there was no room to store unsold cider and apples

Guy Williams, from Skidbrooke Cyder in Louth, Lincolnshire, said although supermarkets had sold more bottles to people at home, much of his trade is with pubs, restaurants and events, and it had gone off a "cliff edge" in March.

He said: "90% of our sales would normally be between March and September and 90% of those would be to pubs and wholesalers, so we're not short of cider."

Meanwhile, Pickering Road Community Orchard, a not-for-profit set up by the NHS in Hull to encourage healthy eating, said it has 1,000 bottles of apple juice made which would usually be sold to cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs.

Pickering Road Community Orchard said it has 1,000 bottles of apple juice made from the leftover apple harvest