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Farms that allow shoppers to go to the fields and pick berries are still a novelty. Asta Dailidienė, a farmer from the Šakiai district who provides this service, and Silvija, who introduced herself as a representative of Aleknų ūkio, said they did not feel the lack of visitors this year.
“More people are coming. It seems that everyone loses their outings to nature after the limitations. More inhabitants are coming, from Kaunas or Kazlų Rūda. But I have noticed that people have wanted to go further lately,” said A. Dailidienė .
I was delighted that the visitors were extremely disciplined and polite this summer, eager to communicate. It is true that now, according to her, fewer young people come than before.
Aleknų ūkis also does not complain about the lack of customers. According to Silvija, who answered the phone and introduced herself, the farm also receives clients from other places.
“All kinds of people come. From young to retired. They come from Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda. We have a lot of Visaginas clients. Everyone who loves blueberries rides. I recently got a call, people want to come from Ukmergė. It’s fun to drive from other cities: drive 200 or 300 kilometers. If you plan to visit the places of interest in that region, visit us as well “, assured Silvija.
He said the farm has customers who come back every year, but new ones show up every year.
Photo by Josvydas Elinskas / 15min / Berry and vegetable season at the markets of Kalvarijai and Karoliniškės
“I recognize people who have already been with us, but new ones appear every year. Our main source of income was the export of berries every year, and this year everything has turned around and more people come to pick up the farm from which we export ”, said the interlocutor.
Other buyers get less
It is true that not everyone is doing so well. Some berry growers say they have felt a decline in customer interest and attribute this to the effects of the quarantine. Vitas Juodsnukis, a farmer from Kazlų Rūda, said he did not understand where the berry pickers disappeared this summer: neither strawberries nor blueberries attracted his interest.
“We don’t really understand where people have gone, sales have also fallen. I don’t think it’s anything other than a quarantine effect. People were restricted for a long time and as soon as the opportunity to go somewhere arose, they left in droves. Farmers have felt this a lot, both through the strawberry picking and the sale of harvested strawberries. ” 15 minutes said V. Juodsnukis.
Photo of Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Strawberry Market
According to him, now the same situation with blueberries.
“Last year there were 10-20 pickers per day, now only 2-3. And the conditions and prices are the same. There are many more berries, both strawberries and blueberries, this year than last year,” said the producer of berries.
He noted that berry picking generally comes from people in their 30s to 60s.
123RF.com nuotr./Šilauogės
“Solid people come who appreciate the opportunity to own the berries, see how they are grown. Many say: in supermarkets they don’t know how much and where those berries are stored, and when they come here they see that they are not sprayed or what. Many people understand and appreciate this, “said V. Juodsnukis.
Petras Basalykas, director of the blueberry producing company “Your Garden”, also noted that more visitors were arriving before the quarantine.
Photo by Asta Černė Blueberries
“We get customers, but people are slow to choose and charge less. Maybe the virus will be affected. I wanted to drive before the pandemic,” said P. Basalykas.
According to him, the majority, about 70 percent. – Customers are regulars, they come with their families and then the berries are frozen for the winter.
Prices vary
And how much does it cost to pick berries in Lithuania? V. Juodsnukis assured that he has not raised prices since last year. A liter of strawberries collected on his farm sowed 1.20 euros this summer, and the same amount of blueberries: 3 euros. According to him, prices abroad are higher, you pay not only for harvested berries.
“I had to be in Finland 10-15 years ago, in an organic strawberry 100 kilometers from Helsinki. If a kilo of strawberries costs 5 euros, it costs about 15 euros when you come to pick it up. There is a tendency that if you admit yourself, you wake up, you eat, you have to pay for it ”, explained the farmer.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Forest products are sold in packages
“And the opposite is true with us: if it costs 5 euros to trade, then you pay it when you get to the euro. But the situation will have to change, because those things are already causing losses to farmers, “added V. Juodsnukis.
Aleknų ūkis, who grows blueberries, started this summer with a price of 7 euros per kilo, but now the price is 6 euros. A year ago, a kilo of red fruits also cost 6 euros.
“Our berries are big enough, they are grown really organically, without any additional fertilizer,” said a representative from the farm.
A.Dailidienė, a farmer from the Šakiai district, assured that black currants are asked to be harvested as much as last year – 0.50 euros per kilo, prices of strawberries vary from 0.50 to 1.2 euros – depending on their size and variety.
Photo from 123RF.com/ Black currants and leaves
At that time, P. Basalykas pointed out that a kilo of blueberries can be charged for 4 euros.
Berry growers are not overlooked due to staff shortages
Berry growers are also not overlooked by the problem of staff shortages in Lithuania. V. Juodsnukis said that it is very difficult to find labor in the villages.
“If we take each other out of the city, they are saved. Anyway, there is no one to work in the villages,” the peasant complained.
Šakiai district farmer A.Dailidienė said her farm does not need many employees, because almost everything is left to visitors. However, he admitted that he was aware of the problem.
Tim Mossholder / Unsplash / Strawberry Picking
“I need very few employees, two or three people are enough, so I did not feel the shortage. But if there was a need for employees, there would be a huge shortage, ”the woman agreed.
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