A SOFT fruit grower in north Herefordshire has said redundancies will be kept to a minimum as it carries out a consultation.

S&A Produce (UK) Ltd in Marden is an independently-owned British family business which supplies strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, asparagus and avocados to major retailers.

Peter Holder, group HR and recruitment director, said: "S&A Produce (UK) Ltd. can confirm that the business is currently in consultation with a number of its staff, as a consequence of a plan to reset the business.

"At this time our priority is to support and consult with those potentially affected. We are optimistic that redundancies will be kept to a minimum; in any event we envisage the outcome to be less than 20 roles impacted."

The company's base is in Herefordshire but they are a global enterprise with farms also in Spain, South America and China.