June 16 2014, 13:50 Fresh-market.pl

Poland: processors' purchase prices for strawberries down year-on-year

Prices of strawberries for processing have already fallen below last year's levels in Poland.

Last week growers made attempts to maintain prices at rather high levels in view of a decrease in supply registered due to cloudy weather. However, the supply has recently grown considerably that exerts pressure on prices. The market participants also say of significantly worse quality of berries due to rains. As a result, Polish processors have reduced purchase prices of strawberries and now buy them at prices lower than in the mid-June 2013.

For the present, manufacturers of jams and jellies are ready to purchase low-quality strawberries at 0.25-0.27 euro/kg, a decrease of 20% compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, strawberries for IQF freezing are now sold at 0.56-0.58 euro/kg, a decrease of 10% year-on-year.