April 2 2007, 12:46

Strawberry will ripen two weeks earlier this year

Warm spring 2007 let the growers of early berries hope to have harvest in maximum short terms, the farmers from the southern regions of Ukraine inform.

They say, comparing to the previous year strawberry plants vegetate significantly faster under film and agrifiber due to the warm weather: some early berries have been already blooming. So, the first shipments of strawberry are possible by mid April, if the warm weather is constant. According to the experts' evaluations, field strawberry will start actively ripening in the first decade of May this year in the South of Ukraine.

We'd like to remind that bulk shipments of early strawberry of Ukrainian origin entered the wholesale markets of Ukraine mid May past year. Greek and Spanish strawberry for up to $5/kg had been sold by that time on markets. The average wholesale prices for Ukrainian strawberry were two-threefold higher than in 2005. The first shipments cost $8/kg mid May 2006.

To the opinion of the analysts of ""Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal", the wholesale prices for first-coming strawberry will be around $ 6-8/kg in April on market; the prices can decline down to $2-4/kg by mid May.