Tesco and McCann Orchards partnership brings Irish apples and pears to the table

TESCO Ireland has announced a new and novel ‘modern orchard’ partnership which sees previously international varieties of apples and pears, grown and sourced in the first ‘modern orchard’ in Ireland.

In a new two-year deal, worth €2.5m, Tesco has partnered with established orchard growers, the McCann family from county Armagh, and will be its anchor customer for the innovative new 130-acre Tullyallen ‘modern orchard’, based in the Boyne Valley near the Louth-Meath border.

Over 100,000 trees have been planted and novel new fruit growing techniques deployed to cultivate popular modern varieties of apples and pears – including gala and golden delicious apples, conference and QTee pears. This is the first ‘modern orchard’ to grow these varieties commercially in Ireland, having previously been imported.

The ‘modern orchard’ initiative provides Tesco customers with home-grown varieties of their most favoured apple and pear varieties for the first time, throughout the autumn and winter months, in line with the Northern hemisphere season. Tullyallen Orchard is unique in that it comprises c1,300 trees per acre compared to a traditional orchard in Ireland with just 200-350 trees per acre. Each tree is planted being supported by wooden posts and a 3-tier wire system in order to safely carry the fruit load when in full crop during the growing season. In line with the worlds ever changing climate, McCann Orchard has installed a drip feed irrigation system throughout the ‘modern orchard’ to ensure water supply to the trees throughout the season and when in strong demand during the summer months of growth.

3.5 million home grown apples and pears will make their way onto Tesco shelves over the coming weeks and months, with production expected to triple to c. 11 million by the end of 2024. Insight from McCann Orchards suggests that when the Orchard reaches full production, it will mean a projected reduction of 110 HGV road journeys or 135,000 miles annually coming from mainland Europe, eliminating 197,000kgs of C02 annually.

Oliver McCann, MD, McCann Orchard added: “We are delighted to extend our 25-year long partnership with Tesco Ireland and with such an exciting commitment of support to our ‘modern orchard’. The strength of our relationship with Tesco has helped us move this project forward and give us the confidence to invest in new and innovative ways to grow and harvest our produce. We’re looking forward to delivering these tasty apples and pears to Tesco customers.”