The Serbian soft fruit season is in full swing, and, according to one exporter, the strawberries have hardly endured any frost damage this year. As these frosts have destroyed quite a few plantations in Europe, demand for the soft fruit from Serbia is rather high this year.
According to Aleksandar Glidzic, CEO of VegFresh Serbia, the strawberry season is looking positive this year: “We have started with strawberries and the season is looking good. Almost every plantation was saved from frost damages, while most of the plantations in Serbia are in an open field. Prices have been approximately 1.2 euro for 500gr at this time. Serbia has one of the cleanest environments in Europe for producing fruit and vegetables.”
The fact that other markets have had produce destroyed by the frost, means that there is more demand for the Serbian strawberries, Glidzic explains. “Demand for this year is good because frost destroyed a lot of plantations in Europe. Our main markets are Russia, Middle East, and Europe, but now we receive requests from other places. Only damaged fruits in Serbia are apricots and early peaches. We’re very optimistic for this year regarding other fruit and vegetables like plums, tomatoes, nectarines as well as blueberries.”
Next to strawberries, Veg Fresh deals in a variety of other soft fruit: “Our blueberry season starts in the middle of July and finishes at the end of August. Prices for blueberries were around 5.6-6.5 euro per kg. Cherries have started at the beginning of June and the season should last until the middle of July. The price for cherries is around 1.6 euro per kg. Finally, the seasons for blackberries and raspberries started in June and will finish in August. In the last couple of years, the price range has been 4-6 euros for blackberries and raspberries per kg. All prices I just mentioned are for table modern varieties with a long shelf life.”
However, due to the actions of some sketchy traders in Serbia, honest traders are feeling the effects of lower demand for raspberries. “In 2015, Serbia reached first place in raspberry production in the world. With around 100,000 tons of raspberries exported by the end of the year, Serbia managed to beat the previous market leaders Poland and Chile. Demand has declined in the past and this year, because some Serbian producers are mixing our raspberries with imported lower quality raspberries. That has left consequences for all Serbian producers that work at fair dealing, even for us.” Glidzic concludes.
For more information:
Aleksandar Glidzic
VegFresh Serbia
Tel: +381637677576
Email: info@vegfreshrs.com
https://vegfreshrs.com