Blackmoor Estate is trial-growing apricots in a bid to decrease UK reliance on imported fruit.

The top and stone fruit grower has planted two rows of apricots and will trial the crop for three to four years before deciding whether to plant it on a larger scale.

“There’s a big demand for stone fruit in the UK and, if we can produce apricots here, rather than relying on imports, that has to be a good thing,” said Blackmoor’s orchard manager, Cor van Oorschot.

Blackmoor had a similar sheltered climate to that of the Loire Valley in France, he added.

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Second Opinion: UK needs to focus on real food (16 January 2010)