Heavy rains caused some of the blueberry orchards in the Samegrelo region to be flooded in Georgia yesterday. Local farmers claim that harvesting has resumed this morning in less affected orchards, though short-term rain has forced them to stop picking.
Blueberry grower from the Samegrelo region Zaza Kardava stated that his orchard was less damaged as a result of yesterday’s rain, although today the picking process is delayed: “Today, I have about sixty people hired to pick blueberries. We started working in the morning but soon had to stop picking because it was raining again. We still plan to resume harvesting during the day, when there will be no rain.”
A local buyer has stated they do not plan to buy wet berries, because such blueberries cannot be stored for a long time and the risk of mold is high. At the same time blueberry prices are increasing, according to growers now exporters are paying $8 USD/kg.
Source: east-fruit.com