Last summer’s rains damaged the fields of several Estonian strawberry growers, and this year’s harvest is expected to be smaller than expected, but the impact on prices cannot yet be predicted, writes ERR News.
Wiira Farm in Tartu County grows strawberries on an area of about two hectares, and it is divided between two varieties – Falco and Asia, but about 40% of the Falco plants planted last year were lost due to the previous summer’s rains. Farm owner Erle Hermann said that now the question is how much strawberries will come in, and that income will not be as planned. The farm used a loan for the spring planting, hoping to be able to pay it off by the end of the summer, but now it will have to be extended for a year.
Kadri Nebokat, a board member of the Estonian Berry Growers Association and owner of Laari Farm, said that excessive moisture has also damaged fields in other parts of Estonia. The damage caused depends on when the strawberries were planted, how much moisture there was in the particular field, and also on the strawberry variety.
For example, at Joosepi Farm in Põlva County, all the strawberries in the flooded fields died. Ranet Roositalu, the farm’s marketing and sales manager, said that
summers like the previous one, when all the plantings were practically under water, have a very negative impact.
The Asia variety of strawberries suffered the most, and half of them have died off. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of euros were invested in the damaged fields, and if half of what was planted is gone, the losses are significant. Moreover, it is not just about strawberries, but also other plants – almost 90% of the pea and potato fields were under water.
Nebokat said that it is still too early to estimate the losses on her farm. Some plants look sad, but the overall picture is not very worrying. She said that the previous three years have been difficult in terms of weather conditions, so the plants are not strong, and are not quite what they could be under ideal conditions.
Although several growers will have a smaller strawberry harvest than planned this year, this does not mean that prices will be higher. Hermann said that imported strawberries will keep prices down, and it is difficult to predict the weather conditions in the coming weeks. The first strawberries grown in Estonia are expected in early June.
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