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Throughout July and August, local MPs have been visiting the farms that grow blackcurrants for Ribena as part of the annual harvest season. As well as understanding how blackcurrants are grown to make the classic British drink, MPs learnt about Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I’s commitment to supporting biodiversity and sustainability on these farms.

With 90 per cent of all British grown blackcurrants going on to make Ribena, ensuring the long-term viability of the environments they grow in is vital. Even during the busy harvest season, biodiversity remains a top priority for us and our community of growers across the UK.

Harvest is the most important time of the year for us at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I, but we work all year round to make sure our Ribena growers have the support they need to run their farms as sustainably and efficiently as possible. It is always a special day when we get to show people the work we do on our farm.

Harriet Prosser, Agronomist at SBF GB&I

Every year, SBF GB&I works with its growers to implement a bespoke Six Point Plan for the protection of wildlife and habitats on blackcurrant farms, working alongside independent conservation advisors to carry out audits as part of its in-house Farm Stewardship Scheme.

Ribena blackcurrant growers manage over 4,000 acres of British countryside – including Dundee in Scotland, Herefordshire on the Welsh borders, Somerset in the South West, the South East and East Anglia