The raspberry season has begun in Latvia, and local berries are already available on the shelves. Meanwhile, farms indicate that due to the damage caused by winter frosts and spring frosts, this year’s harvest will be worse.” Peasants will try to maintain prices at last year’s level for vegetables and fruits typical of Latvia, even despite increased costs and losses and the VAT increased this year (from 5% to 12%), noted Juris Lazdins, Chairman of the Board of Zemnieku Saeima. At the same time, one must take into account the fact that prices for berries on store shelves may be higher, as the price may vary. in the store is fundamentally different from the price for which the product of the retail chain was offered by the farmer.” In field conditions, raspberries suffered from winter frosts and died in many regions of Latvia. The berries were also negatively affected by changeable weather conditions in spring and early summer, and in some areas by drought. This means that there will be fewer raspberries on sale this year, and the quality of the berries will depend on weather conditions. In turn, farms that grow berries in tunnels will receive a better raspberry harvest. Gundega Saushkina, a member of the Zemnieku saeima (SIA Very Berry) organization, says that the raspberries on her farm also suffered from winter frosts, but, taking into account the experience of previous years, the company has increased the area for growing berries in tunnels, since it is easier to control the process in them. Large quantities of raspberries will be available in stores starting from the second week of July. As reported, thanks to hot weather, the Latvian strawberry harvest was harvested earlier this year than in previous years. According to Guntars Dzerve, agronomist at Augusta zemenes, several strawberry growers in Latvia who grow strawberries in indoor plots harvested their first harvest of berries back in May. Dzerve calls the current weather conditions “both good and bad news.” The good news is that this weather means earlier berry picking and greater supply for buyers. The bad news is that the hot, dry weather causes the berries to ripen too quickly. The berries started quickly and ended just as quickly. Mālpils zemenes said that one of the enterprise’s early strawberry varieties overwintered poorly on two hectares of land, and the seedlings did not have time to sprout leaves. Therefore, this year the seedlings are weaker and there will be fewer berries. In addition, early frosts and hail could reduce potential yield by approximately 10%. If hail hits strawberry flowers, the berries produced on them may be of poor quality. Representatives of the Šalmīšu zemenes farm, in turn, said that after heavy rains and thunderstorms, almost the entire early strawberry crop was lost. Hail and drought also negatively affected the harvest. Late strawberry varieties suffered from spring frosts, but this did not greatly affect the plants.
