Despite high-quality sweet cherries being grown in the region, finding suitable markets for their sale is becoming increasingly difficult. Unlike Southern Bulgaria, where organised procurement centres exist, Northeastern Bulgaria lacks such centres. This complicates the sale of produce and leads to losses for local producers. The cost of transporting produce to the country's south is high, making the sale of sweet cherries unprofitable.
Previously, producers could sell their produce in Romania, but this market is now lost to them, further complicating the situation. Purchase prices for produce have dropped by 20% compared to last year, while labour costs and other production expenses have risen significantly. The selling price of the produce cannot cover these increased costs.
Farmers owning 100 acres of cherry orchards expect a yield of about 500 kilograms per hectare this year. They sell cherries daily and in limited quantities but face the same problems as other producers in the region. If procurement centres were organised in Northeastern Bulgaria, where cherries could be sorted, cooled, packaged, and exported to Europe, it would greatly help local producers. Farmers are confident that their cherries are among the most delicious in the world and would be in high demand in international markets.
Source: bourgas.ru