First prices of raspberries for freezing in Serbia disappoint farmers

According to EastFruit analysts, the season for purchasing new crop raspberries for freezing has begun in Serbia. Mass harvesting of raspberries has so far only started in the southern regions of Serbia, and the western regions, which produce the bulk of raspberries for freezing, the harvesting will begin in the near future.

Let’s remember that Serbia has been the world’s largest exporter of frozen raspberries for many years.  Serbian exporters sell frozen raspberries at a much higher prices than its competitors: Poland and Ukraine.

The first procurement prices announced by Serbian raspberry freezers disappointed suppliers. Despite the fact that before the start of the season, processors, farmers and the Ministry of agriculture came to an agreement to keep prices for raspberries at 250 dinars (about $2.5 US dollars) per kg, freezers in the southern regions of Serbia offer no more than 200 dinars (about $1.8 US dollars) per kg of these berries. Farmers consider this price too low, given high crop losses from snowfalls this year, as well as a decrease in raspberry acreage in Serbia after two consecutive seasons of extremely low prices.

Read also: Higher export share of berries, slowdown in domestic consumption – Ukraine forecast from UHA

Interestingly, in Ukraine, the majority of market participants believe that prices for high-quality raspberries for freezing will increase in 2024 to 50-70 UAH/kg, which is from $1.2 to $1.8 US dollars per kg. As you can see, the starting price in Serbia, which local farmers are not happy with, corresponds to the upper limit of the hopes of the majority of Ukrainian farmers. Indeed, in 2023, raspberry prices in Ukraine fell even to an incredible 12 UAH/kg (or about 32 US cents) and a new price outlook looks optimistic for Ukraine’s growers.

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