Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Mass harvesting of black currant and selective picking of raspberry started in Odesa oblast
The farmers-orchardists from Odesa oblast started the mass harvesting of black currant and the selective picking of raspberry, according to the information provided by Dmitriy Chernyak, the Market Information Specialist of Odesa oblast, Agricultural Marketing Project. This year the farmers expect for a well enough harvest of black currant. Berry field management, as a rule, is the additional production for the professional orchardists of Odesa oblast; this business let them have profit before the main season of fruit harvesting. The producers say that the growing demand on berries, observed now, stimulates the acreage extension under these crops. However, the berry specialization is perceived as non-profitable by many professional farmers-orchardists. One of the main reasons is that berry harvesting requires great expenses on hand labor.
It should be mentioned that the fees of wage workers are growing from year to year. This year the farmers pay the seasonal workers USD $ 4.95-6.92/day depending on how remote the farm from Odesa is and whether the workers are provided by free-of-charge lunch. As the producers say, past year the labor costs of the seasonal workers grew from USD $ 2.96/day in the beginning of the season (till May) to USD $ 3.95-4.95/day in the season of mass harvesting of fruit and vegetable commodities.
AMP information. According to the production forecast of fruit and berry commodities in 2005, carried out by the AMP specialists, the currant and raspberry acreage growth will be 2% and 3% respectively in steppe agriclimatic zone of Ukraine.