From Tony Sullivan, SandpiperCI Produce
IN yesterday’s JEP one of your correspondents expressed his ‘horror’ that local Checkers stores were not selling Jersey broccoli.

As part of the SandpiperCI group, we are the largest purchaser of local produce in the islands and make every effort to source quality local produce when it is available and at the volume we require.

We work with the States to maximise our local purchasing, including advertising and holding ‘meet the buyer’ meetings to enable both large and small producers to meet our buyers and forge as many business links as possible.

Buying locally where we can is a fundamental part of the service we offer to our customers.

With regard to your correspondent’s comments about imported broccoli, we purchased Jersey broccoli right up to the end of this year’s season, which finished at the end of January.

This was slightly earlier than normal because of the unusually cold weather this winter. More Jersey broccoli will be back in our stores once the new season’s crop becomes available at the beginning of May.

In the meantime, we are selling locally grown, premium quality, new-season purple-sprouting broccoli which will continue until the end of that crop’s season, which we are told will be the end of April.