The buying prices of raspberries are, in the opinion of the producers, extremely low. In addition, objections also go to the buyer’s account because the payments do not come regularly. On the other hand, the refrigerator owners claim that the prices are dictated by the global market, and they blame the irregular payments on the banks, which did not approve lending this year. And so in a circle. Who is really to blame and how to solve this situation?
After the weather disasters, new ones followed
After bad weather and painful negotiations on the purchase price, the raspberry growers now faced a third problem. Namely, raspberry producer Mileta Pilčević pointed out the problem that, although a month has passed since the harvest, 70 percent of the delivered raspberries have still not been paid to the farmers.
He also said that this price of raspberries is the lowest in the last 15 years and that it is sold at a price of about 250 dinars, and that it is sold after being frozen at a price of 400 dinars. Pilčević confirms that at the level of the whole of Serbia, there are many unpaid raspberries.
“In addition to the low purchase price, the big problem is that some companies did not pay the raspberries for this year, and some did not pay for the ones from previous years,” emphasizes Pilčević. He adds that they have different excuses for that.
“We didn’t get a precise explanation from the buyer, but as we heard from the manufacturer, one company said that their purchase slips had disappeared and that they couldn’t pay until they found them so they would know how much was owed,” says Pilčević.
Some producers have thus remained unpaid for their raspberries, he claims and adds that some have filed lawsuits, but the question is what will come of it. “We asked for meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and President Aleksandar Vučić, because the Ministry has already met us and mediated the negotiations, but we have not reached a price,” says our interlocutor.
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Pilčević indicates that this is no longer a question of the price itself, but whether the producers will survive and whether there will be production next year.
“This area used to live off raspberries, and now we see that people are slowly leaving Arilje. This is already the second year where we are selling raspberries below the price, because last year we sold them for about 200 dinars, and this year for about 250, which, when you take into account inflation and how much everything has become more expensive, comes to the same thing,” Pilčević believes.
According to him, if the price were to be this low next year, it would be the end of raspberry growing.
“Because of that, the whole country would lose, that’s why we ask them to find a solution. Are there any subsidies from the state or to review the flows, to see who exports for how much, who buys for how much, who earns how much. The enrichment of a few individuals cannot destroy producers,” emphasizes Pilčević.
As he adds, for now there is no feedback from the state, although they have sent requests both directly to the cabinets and through the municipality.
Pilčević also reminds that an interdepartmental working group was formed with the Ministry of Agriculture on the situation in raspberry growing and that they are expecting the start of its work to see if it will bring results.
“We appeal to buyers, exporters and the state to look at the wider situation, so that we don’t get into a problem and that everyone is left without a piece of the cake,” he said.
The state is silent for now
However, despite the appeal of the raspberry growers to the state officials and the question that the newspaper Danas sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, the state remains silent on this problem for the time being. Željka Mihailović, the owner of a raspberry orchard near Kosjerić, says that there were regular payments while the raspberries were being picked.
“Then they paid us certain sums of money two or three times, that was until the end of July. As soon as the raspberry is ripe, no one pays anything anymore”, she states. Mihailović adds that they went to the refrigerator to ask for money.
“We asked them what happened to the payments, they promised money, but did not explain why the money was not paid earlier,” says the interlocutor. She adds that it happened in previous years that they have breaks in payments and that it depends on who you “bump into”.
Mihailović also believes that the purchase price is very low. “It’s the bottom of the bottom, we sold it for 257 dinars and that’s for us to drive it to the place of purchase. As long as the workers are paid, we have work for her all year round, that’s no price,” she emphasizes. Mihailović says that the real price would be around 350 to 400 dinars.
The problem is in the banks, and the raspberry growers don’t see the bigger picture
The director of the company “Master Food”, which deals with the purchase and processing of berries, Svetislav Mlađenović claims for Danas that as far as the price is concerned, the associations of raspberry growers use superficial information. “The matter is global, and they look individually,” he believes.
Mlađenović also states that the information that raspberries were not paid to that extent at the level of the whole of Serbia is not correct.
“Regarding this year, I assume that some cold stores did not pay 70 percent of the taken raspberries, but as far as I know, most of them paid the raspberries. We specifically paid 70 percent, and we will pay the rest in September, this is how we have been working for years,” he explains.
The problem of those who did not pay, as he says, is in the banks. “The banks absolutely did not finance the purchase of frozen fruit and raspberries this year. “Only three or four companies in Serbia received such loans, 50 or 60 percent less than in previous years, and the other companies did not receive a single dinar, and they have to repay current obligations and loans, which puts an additional burden on the companies,” says Mlađenović.
Raspberries, he adds, are not all sold in July and August in order to make a profit, but are also sold the following season. “In July, when the prices were heating up, a couple of trucks were sold at a price of 360 dinars, but after that, when the Ukrainians started harvesting, offering raspberries much cheaper than us, the prices calmed down and fell”, explains our interlocutor.
He also says that it is difficult for farmers to expect additional payment for raspberries, because the price is currently around 320 or 330 dinars, and they pay 270. When it comes to the lowest price in the last 15 years, he emphasizes that it it is not correct.
“Only in 2018, the price was 80 dinars, and last year raspberries were 200 dinars. They are grasping for 2021 and 2022, when the price was extremely high, around 420 and up to 500 and more dinars, and those are the years when refrigerators lost a huge amount of money,” claims Mlađenović. Because of this, according to him, a lot of cold stores went into bankruptcy and blockades.
“Those who are working somehow balance, but the question is whether more of them will fail in this and the following years. “This is all caused by the fact that at that time raspberries were paid by heart for 550 dinars, while they were sold for 200 and 250 dinars,” he points out. As he states, we are only participants in the global market and we have to adapt to it.
“We can’t pay as much for raspberries as we think we should because nobody will buy them because literally the whole world is producing raspberries now. 10 or 12 years ago, it was produced only by us, Poles and Chileans, and we were the biggest producers and then we were able to influence the market. Now the Chinese, Americans, Russians, Bulgarians, Romanians…literally the whole world are producing it.
There are also fresh raspberries on the market during the whole 12 months and that means that we cannot influence too much, but we have to adapt and be competitive if we want to sell our goods”, concludes Mlađenović.
Source: Today
Source: www.agromedia.rs
