The industrial cherries have decreased in price, but only temporarily.

Cherry prices at the collection points dropped last week, causing some turmoil in the market and anxiety among some producers. It seems, in fact, that this was the intended purpose of these changes - to cause concern among orchardists and prompt them to "flee" from the fruit in fear of a continuing downward trend.

If this was the goal, it had a limited effect. Firstly, the price drops were not significant, averaging just below 10 percent, though the psychological barrier of 5 PLN/kg (1.17 EUR/kg) was crossed. Additionally, not everyone lowered prices that much. Secondly, many smaller frost events did not change prices at all and kept them above 5.50 PLN/kg (1.29 EUR/kg). There is also a widespread belief that this price decrease is temporary.

This belief seems to be confirmed. It is known that there is a shortage of cherries, and recent weather has further negatively impacted the current harvest. Storms passed through many regions of the country, affecting cherry orchards as well. It appears that the cherry harvest season may end in a few days, and many facilities have not purchased their planned volumes.

A reversal from lower prices was already visible on Friday afternoon. Fruit freezing purchase prices returned to a minimum of 5.00 PLN/kg (1.17 EUR/kg) and reached up to 5.50 PLN/kg (1.29 EUR/kg). The prices at delivery locations ranged from 5.70 to 5.90 PLN/kg (1.34-1.39 EUR/kg) most often. Cherry prices for preserves returned to the range of 5.20-5.60 PLN/kg (1.22-1.32 EUR/kg). Prices for industrial cherries did not drop at all and remain in the range of 3.00-4.00 PLN/kg (0.70-0.94 EUR/kg), with cherry prices for juice at 3.50-4.00 PLN/kg (0.82-0.94 EUR/kg).