[ad_1]
The loss of income this summer due to the lack of squirrels is partly offset by the fact that the refrigerators are full of fruits and vegetables.
Virginijus Varanavičius, director of the Lithuanian Forest Berry and Mushroom Entrepreneurs Association, which groups 10 companies, says that so far there are no squirrels either in Lithuania or in other countries from which mushroom processors usually bring them.
“It just came to our attention then. I have been working in this business for 30 years, but I don’t remember that a kilo in the supermarket cost 8 euros, in the middle of July, very much. In general, there is a limited amount of mushrooms (BNS) in Lithuania. , but there is no production in Europe either. In previous years, we brought from the neighboring countries of Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, now and there an absolute decline. Dry. (…) It is not possible to bring even a kilogram “V. Varanavičius told BNS.
According to him, in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, the mushroom season is already coming to an end, where Lithuanian entrepreneurs bought a few or several tens of tons, but “no paper for business”. V. Varanavičius emphasized that it became difficult to compete with the Poles in the mushroom processing business.
“They also process mushrooms and berries from the forest and grow many of them themselves. (…) It is quite difficult to compete with them both in price and volume of production,” said the representative of mushroom processors.
Raida Budrikienė, director of the Tandemus company, says that the squirrels are brought from Russia and Belarus; the latter’s supply of squirrels should not be interrupted due to the political situation.
“They do not usually eat that much. The surplus is usually large. They receive currency. They do not prohibit exports,” said the businessman.
Greta Juškevičienė, director of the Dariles company, which operates since 2008 and does not buy mushrooms in Lithuania, but only imports them from the East, processes them and supplies them to other companies for processing, also said that she did not feel the consequences of the situation. politics in the mushroom business.
“Until now, Belarusian suppliers do not offer anything, because there are no squirrels, they have dried up. In Russia, the squirrel season was delayed by 10-12 days. We import less, we export less. We want the rain to start there and the squirrels to start growing, ”he told BNS.
V. Varanavičius predicts that if the drought continues, the squirrels will become more expensive.
“It can freely reach 10 euros (price per kilogram in supermarkets – BNS)”, warned V. Varanavičius.
The head of the association predicts that due to the lack of squirrels, companies may lose about half of their income: “At least 50 percent. really is. “
He stressed that since last year, the refrigerators have been losing the production of last year: the coronavirus has shut down the global food sector and the squirrels have not been able to be sold.
“Perhaps it is time to rent refrigerators for someone? Until now we have not dared to rent, we still think that maybe we need it. (…) We will give announcements, maybe someone will appear. There are butchers, fishermen, fruit growers”, he considered .
The director of Tandemus believes that due to the lack of squirrels, they are likely to run out fresh, not enough to dry and freeze.
“According to the current situation, if this continues, we may not have frozen products, because there will be nothing to freeze,” said R. Budrikienė.
