Strawberries - the latest harvest has affected prices.

Last week we had something like a strawberry glut on the Polish market. Larger quantities of the late variety Malwina appeared. Of course, it was far from the supply levels we see at the peak of the season. Nevertheless, in a market that experienced a significant shortage of strawberries in the first half of June and then in the last decade of the past month, even a limited reversal of the supply trend was clearly visible.

And as one might easily guess, this improvement in supply quickly translated into a drop in prices. The drop was even more dynamic because the weather during the period discussed was not good for high-quality strawberries being harvested. A lot of low-quality goods entered the market, especially since the amount being bought for processing has been minimal for some time.

As a result, wholesale prices for dessert strawberries dropped to 8.00-12.00 PLN/kg (1.85-2.77 EUR/kg) most often, although there were offers at even lower prices. Some were even as low as 5.00 PLN/kg (1.15 EUR/kg), but they were scarce and related to really poor quality goods.

On the other hand, there were also producers who did not go below 16.00 PLN/kg (3.69 EUR/kg). But there weren't many of them either. In any case, it noticeably became cheaper, although – as can be seen clearly on our chart – there was and is no talk of cheap strawberries in July 2024! Prices have remained higher than in the previous five seasons. Although this situation could soon change, provided there is no trend reversal. However, this morning brought a slight upward shift in the range of most common prices.

After the recent rainfall and storms, this could have been expected. Morning prices in wholesale were 9.00-15.00 PLN/kg (2.08-3.46 EUR/kg). The dominant price point was clearly 12.00 PLN/kg (2.77 EUR/kg). According to our chart, even with stabilization in the mentioned range, the average price will remain the highest in this comparison for at least another ten days.

But most likely, during this time, there will be further increases, provided there is still enough trade in wholesale on a larger scale.