For several consecutive years, the main problem in growing berries among Ukrainian farmers has been a shortage of labor, which is especially pronounced during harvesting.

Europe is experiencing the same deficit, but the situation of Ukrainian producers is worse, because it is complicated by the outflow of labor to other countries with higher wages. In this situation, Ukrainian farmers are forced to raise wages for seasonal workers.

Ukrainian producers will be forced to pay more to berry pickers. There is information that this year they plan to increase wages by at least 20%. At the same time, they need to work on the productivity of the berry.

This is the only way out of this difficult situation in the seasonal labor market, said the manager of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project, Alexander Khorev, during the 10th international conference “Berries of Ukraine: Freezing and Fresh Market”.

At the same time, the director of the Brusvyana nursery, Liliana Dmitrieva, is of the opinion that not all farmers have the opportunity to pay higher wages to seasonal workers.

According to Liliana Dmitrieva, blueberry producers are best able to pay the labor of seasonal workers. In the case of other berries, even a small increase in wages will entail an increase in the cost of the product by 30%, which not all farmers can afford.

Alexander Khorev believes that given the rapid growth of production and not too high demand, one should not expect that high costs can be covered by increasing selling prices for goods. Responsibility for the cost of berries lies with producers and they must work to reduce it, trying to grow more quality berries that can be sold more expensive.