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Strawberries, produced in large quantities this year with the heat, are cheaper on the markets. Producers fear they won’t be able to keep up.
Thursday, May 12, strawberries are sold for three euros per tray on a market in Périgueux (Dordogne). With the sun, the strawberry harvest is indeed important. “It’s true that in the middle of the season, it has already happened to sell for 2.50 euros per tray, but it’s rare that we go below”, explains Julie Cramarégeas, producer. The pickers harvest the strawberries early in the morning so that they don’t get damaged by the heat.
Producers are worried about an abundance of strawberries on the stalls. They fear a “lower prices, lower quality, because when it’s hot, it ripens very quickly”, notes Sylvain Dureux, technical manager of the Socave cooperative. Producers also lack the staff to reap the rewards. “We can’t pick everything on the same days and therefore we will eventually be late”explains Élodie Le Roux-Teixeira, producer in the Dordogne.