The beginning of the 2023/24 season in the raspberry sector in Europe and Asia is not marked by easy challenges. Frozen raspberry stocks in Serbia and Poland have reached record high levels, but demand for this berry has dropped significantly. Even at prices from 1.0 to 1.2 euros per kilogram, there were no buyers for raspberries. This is reported by EastFruit.

When raspberry harvesting began in Ukraine, hopes for price recovery dissipated as frosts reduced prices for raw materials. Prices for raspberries for freezing in Ukraine fell to 12 UAH per kilogram, which indicated a low cost of production.

However, experienced market players understand that product prices do not depend on the cost of production.

In the summer and fall, there was outrage in Poland over imports of raspberries and other products from Ukraine. Polish farmers, fearing low prices in Ukraine, hoped to solve the problem by blocking imports from a competitor country. It seems that they succeeded, as raspberry prices in the winter of 2023 began to rise only when Poland began to block the border with Ukraine.

But the main reason for the price increase was growing demand. After two years of low prices, food processors returned to very cheap raspberries, reducing the cost of their products. This, together with the blocking of borders, led to a rise in prices.

At the beginning of 2024, rumors of low raspberry stocks began to spread in the market. This became a topic of discussion among freezers, which led to further price increases. Now, deals are actively being made across all quality categories, subject to the availability of raspberries.

During the first quarter of 2024, prices were constantly rising. After the beginning of the year, food producers suddenly increased their purchases of raspberries, which pushed prices up even more. Poland continued to create problems for the transit of raspberries from Ukraine, further increasing the psychological factor of growth.

Currently, many frozen raspberry producers have almost no stocks left. Today, only limited offers can be found on the market. Given this, the pricing situation looks quite interesting, as if there is enough volume and quality, you can get a good price.

Market participants say that there is virtually no raspberry supply, so there is a rush of demand in the highest quality categories.

Companies that are obliged to fulfill contracts for the supply of berries are now trying to choose high-quality raspberries from the remaining stock on the market. However, by the end of April - mid-May, the supply of raspberries may be insufficient, and they will have to rely on imports from China and Morocco.