In W23 in the strawberry landscape, the Russian Agricultural Bank (RSHB) expects the Russian strawberry market to grow by 5% per year on average in the next three years, with a gradual reduction in the share of imported products and a redistribution of volumes among Turkey, Belarus, and Azerbaijan. In 2022, the Russian strawberry market amounted to 300 thousand mt, in line with 2022’s total. A large portion of Russian strawberry production is sourced from large personal subsidiary farms of the Krasnodar Territory and the North Caucasus, which sell products in various regions of Russia. Moscow and the Leningrad regions also show high volumes of strawberry picking due to their proximity to the largest markets for berries.
The State Customs Committee (SCC) of Abkhazia in Russia reports that, since the beginning of 2023, strawberry exports amounted to 48.7mt, down 56.9% and 86% compared to the same period in 2022 (113mt) and 2021 (352mt), respectively. In 2023, few farmers were able to grow strawberries in large volumes due to adverse weather conditions, since it was a very rainy spring. Therefore, strawberry producers mainly opted to sell their products domestically as a result of the high demand in Abkhazia. Earlier, it was reported that due to the saturation of the domestic market of the nearby regions of Russia (NCFD and SFD) with their own production and the difficulties in delivering products to the Central and other districts of Russia, farmers growing strawberries reduced their volumes in 2022. Currently, strawberry prices range from USD 2.39/kg to USD 3.59/kg, a decrease of 50-66.7% compared to the winter period when it was priced at USD 7.18/kg. Strawberries are mainly grown in Eastern Abkhazia in personal subsidiary farms and three large enterprises. Currently, berries can be bought both in the markets and along the Republican highway in specially designated places.
In Italy, the high trend continues for strawberries, which have now reached their last stages, and with the night cold slowing down their production, resulting in less product entering the markets. However, demand remains at a good level. Overall, the strawberry campaign was characterized by good quality products due to the high temperatures recorded at the beginning of 2023, a factor which also justifies the high price. In the wholesale market in Elizówka in Lublin County in Poland, Lubianka strawberry prices stand at USD 3.92/kg, USD 1.96/kg less than in June 2022. On the contrary, Dessert strawberries are much cheaper than in 2022. Despite the low selling price of Dessert strawberries, there are increasingly higher costs associated with maintaining the plantation. Thus, growers from Lublin County are lamenting that the cultivation of strawberries is becoming unprofitable in Poland. In Ukraine, the favorable warm weather conditions have stimulated the active ripening of Garden strawberries. As a result, the supply of Garden strawberries on the Ukrainian market is rapidly increasing, leading to a sharp decrease in selling prices. In W23, Garden strawberry producers offered this product for sale at a price of USD 0.82-1.78/kg, down 36% on average compared to W22's price of USD 1.64-2.32/kg. At the same time, most market operators noted a fairly large percentage of substandard strawberries in the current season. Abundant rainfall significantly reduced the quality characteristics of Ukrainian Garden strawberries.
The 2023 British strawberry season has started slightly later than in 2022 due to cooler spring weather. However, according to the British Berry Growers, 2023 UK strawberries are bigger and sweeter than those of 2022. Strawberry domestic production is expected to peak around the third and fourth week of June. At 28%, fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries) account for the largest market share of all fruit sold in the UK. Lastly, strawberry producers from the Kresna region of Bulgaria are expecting a drop in 2023 harvest, almost twice weaker compared to the 2022 season. Consequently, producers expect a 30% increase in the price of strawberries due to the expected drop in harvest, coupled with a high cost of production and lack of labor. In 2023, Bulgarian strawberry is expected to be priced between USD 2.24-2.80/kg on average. Currently, the price of Bulgarian strawberries at the cooperative market in Blagoevgrad stands at USD 3.92/kg. This situation makes Bulgarian strawberries to be less competitive compared to Greek strawberries, which are priced at USD 1.12-1.68/kg in the 2023 season. The reason for the lower price of strawberries in Greece is that the production of this fruit is subsidized by the state. Thus, due to the high cost of production in Bulgaria, producers in the region of Kresna and Sandanski are starting to prefer investing in vegetable greenhouses to fruit production.
