Strawberry glut brings low prices, threatening the livelihood of growers

The Polish market has been flooded with strawberries, causing the price per kilo to plunge to zl.0.7, and therefore dashing farmers' hopes of higher profits this summer. According to economists, production costs are zl.2 per kilo. Analysts describe the situation as devastating, and point out that if the prices do not go up, some farmers will not plant their fields, and next year prices will be much higher. Poland is a strawberry "superpower", being the world's largest exporter of frozen strawberries and fourth largest exporter of fresh strawberries. Its main target market is the EU, where 70,000 tons of Polish strawberries are sold every year. The exporters claim their profits have been hit by the high exchange rate of the zloty. The harvest will continue for around ten more days, but farmers are now concerned about similar problems with the cherry and redcurrant harvests. (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 23-24, p. 25) J.K.