Due to the colder climate, Russia's peak berry season takes place during June and July, when the berries are harvested in villages and on dachas. Last week, growers in Krasnodar Krai, the largest commercial region along with Adygea, started their raspberry season and are expecting equal to higher yields than last year.
Last season saw a delay and with harvest starting on time this year, starting prices are approximately 17% lower at RUB 180-250/kg (USD 2.81-3.90/kg).
In Russia,berries are grown in open ground and are not available 12 months a year like in warmercountries. During the last 5 years, commercial productionhas been gradually expanding from the south to the north and the east ofRussia, but domestic production is still not enough to meet demand.
Boost for strawberry production
A recent boost in new strawberry projects involving innovativeagrarian technologies in the Central Black EarthRegion have given a boost to domestic production.
Strawberries have remained the most popular berryfor many years in the Russian market. According to “Tekhnologii Rosta’s” estimations, the strawberry leads in production, followed by currents and raspberries.
According to Association of Fruit and Berry Growers and Nursery-Garden Managersof Russia (ASP-Rus) supervising the international program “Strawberry”, todayRussia already counts about 500 ha of strawberry plantations using intensivetechnology with special frigo plants, specialized equipment and machinery, dripirrigation, high density planting and mulching film. The average yield ofberries grown by intensive technology is by 2 times higher over traditionalgrowing. Berry plantations with traditional growing technology continues to reduce.