Sweet taste for sour cherry producers
December 23, 2017 at 9:09 PM ,
Vuk Barasic
The year 2017. ends. Some fruit producers regret it did not end earlier, whereas others enjoy sweet taste of their work and production.
The first are, as you could probably guess, berry producers and processors- raspberry and blackberry particullary, who have had, at least, devastating year: extremely low prices, insufficient market demand, stocks too loaded, great pressure from producers to achieve higher prices...all in all, a year to forget. The only problem is that the New year does not bring everything new, because the heavy burden of 2017. will be present at least till the new crop, which starts in June and July. So far, the perspective is one shade lighter than utterly black, because miracle could always happen...only if it wasn't for raspberry hyper production, not followed by hyper demand....
The others are (long fanfare sound) sour cherry and plum producers and processors: they still feel the sweet taste of year 2017. (especially for sour cherry). As previously announced (in one of my first reports at this portal), the prices were skyrocketing. Some 15 years ago, no one believed that the price of frozen, pitted sour cherry could exceed 1 EUR/kg, but it happened. 2 EUR/kg is twice higher- true(!), but it is so daring dream that nobody has dreamt it...ever...till now. And it is enough to say...(long stop)
Therefore, everyone in that chain was happy- the producers have received excellent bonus for their effort- around 0,75 EUR/kg in average, which is very good, and processors 1,73 EUR/kg in average, with peaks at 2,30 EUR/kg (!!!), which is incredible!
The plum producers and processors have also had very good year, due to higher price of raw material and consequently the processed plum as well. But those extremes are, somehow modest, taking into account positive sour cherry and negative raspberry extremes. The average of 0,20 EUR/kg for raw material and 0,60-0,65 EUR/kg for machine and 0,70 EUR/kg for hand halved are above average, but not too much above- could say sufficient for everyone to be happy.
Perspectives are vague at this moment, because they are too much weather dependent. Therefore, the best path to choose at this moment, is the one that promises at least three weeks of oblivion, so that the Christmas and New Year could be spent with families and dearest ones, far from worries and filled with hope.
Till we meet again...in 2018!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
View related articles
