site.btaBumper Cherry Harvest in Burgas, Producers Resent Low Purchase Prices

The cherry harvest in Burgas region is abundant in 2024, local producers told BTA on Monday. As a result of the favourable spring weather in the region, there was abundant blooming and fruit sets in the cherry orchards.

Fruits are plentiful and of excellent quality, but slightly smaller than in previous years, said fruit growers. This, in turn, will lead to a lower price of cherries on the markets. Even though there is no serious shortage of pickers, often cherry trees remain unpicked, as there is nowhere to sell the produce. 

Because of this, owners of cherry groves support the easing of export procedures, as producers indicated that only 20% of this year's record production will be exported to other European markets.

The low purchase price and having nowhere to sell the produce is a common complaint for cherry producers across the country. In Kyustendil region, Kiril Dimitrov, a 60-year-old farmer and owner of a big cherry orchard near Dupnitsa, told BTA in May that the resellers in the region have been the same for many years, and they keep the price low, which is where the problems come from. He said with the subsidies he receives, he barely covers the production cost. "In Greece and elsewhere, they have built processing plants with European funds. If every producer became a shareholder in such a plant, everyone would have an interest in the production development. Otherwise, all this will turn into a desert here", he said.