Week 25 saw the end of the Serbian blueberry harvest in the leading growing areas. "On 26 May, the first fruits were ripe for picking, which is relatively early compared to other years. Consequently, the season also ended a bit earlier than we are used to. Overall, we cannot complain about the volumes this season, although the calibres were a bit smaller here and there due to the frost. This in turn means that more fruit has to be picked to arrive at the same kilos, which at the same time takes more work," reports Luka Maksimovic, production manager at abbGrowers in the Central Serbian region of Topola. The Serbian subsidiary has a total of 22 growing sites in Topola and a further eight farms in the north of the Balkan republic.
Luka Maksimovic of abbGrowers Serbia. The subsidiary has been operational since 2018.
With kilogram prices around 4-4.50 euros, the price level has been satisfactory across the board, Maksimovic said. "People often conveniently assume that growing costs in a country outside the EU, such as Serbia, are significantly lower, which is not the case in practice. Our labour costs may be a bit lower, but other costs, such as diesel, are certainly as high as in the European Union, if not higher. In that sense, we largely face the same conditions."
The cultivation site visited in the Topola region is entirely equipped with nets.
Not only in Serbia, but also in other prominent growing areas, such as Romania and Ukraine, the blueberry season started early this year. Due to the overlap of these crops, demand in the export market has been somewhat lower. However, the domestic market in Serbia is hardly significant, Maksimovic confirms. "It is and remains difficult to compete with cheap and also locally grown fruit, especially apples. However, I do not rule out the possibility that in time we will be able to export more volume to neighbouring countries, for example Montenegro."
Although the harvest is over really, 'late bloomers' can still be found here and there.
Cultivation of Sekoya varieties and climate change
Because of the clay soil in the Topola region, abbGrowers has been deliberately betting on growing in pots for about seven years. Like the majority of blueberry growers in Serbia, the company predominantly grows the Duke variety. Maksimovic: "AbbGrowers is a licensee of the so-called Sekoya varieties and next autumn we will plant the first crops at this growing location. In view of the high volumes, good shelf life and generally attractive prices, we want to scale up the cultivation of Sekoya varieties in Serbia step by step in the coming years."
One of the main challenges within the Serbian soft fruit sector is climate change. "This year, spring frosts hit harder than ever before, which again is linked to the early vegetation and mild winter. However, what worries us in particular is that the tropical climate with temperatures of up to 40 degrees, familiar from the Mediterranean, is increasingly coming our way. If this continues, it will become an increasing challenge for Serbian fruit growing," Maksimovic concludes.
For more information:
Luka Maksimovic
abbGrowers Serbia
T: +31 6 30339929
https://www.abbgrowers.com/