The raspberry landscape of Poland is changing. Plantations of autumn varieties in open ground disappear. Producers invest in tunnels in which such varieties are successfully grown.
In the case of raspberries, the May frosts did not have such a large impact on the yield as in the cultivation of strawberries. However, rainfall in July turned out to be a strong negative factor. The Polish Statistical Office estimates that the total production of raspberries in Poland in 2020 could amount to 122 thousand tonnes, which is about 60% more than last year's very low harvest. There is also a change in the ratio of the size of fall and summer cultivars. The latter are gaining popularity, and more and more of them are grown. Fruit harvested in summer tastes better. However, the weather conditions in the last season were responsible for the poor quality of the raw material for processing.
The situation in the international trade in raspberry was favourable, which was an additional factor contributing to good levels of prices in Poland.
Currently, about 60-70% of raspberries produced in Poland are sold to industrial customers. Due to the possibilities offered by the dessert market, achieving a 50:50 ratio between the production of dessert and industrial fruit is probably a matter of the next few years. Growers are better prepared in the event of drought. After the extremely hot 2019, many of them have invested in the construction of effective irrigation and fertigation systems. Perhaps this year it did not matter much. Some of the plantations had to be removed at certain times. If in the future dry and hot summers come again, the yield decline should not be as large as in the previous year.
Source: Jagodnik.pl