In a statement to Logos Press, a representative of the Moldova Fruct Association’s leadership noted that, despite a late start to the sales season, Moldova exported nearly 6,000 metric tons of sweet cherries last month. This is only 2,000 metric tons less than in June 2025.
At the same time, the previous sweet cherry export season was one of the most successful in the past five years. There is still hope that sweet cherry exports for July 2026 will not fall below June’s figures.
According to market operators, prices for export-grade cherries vary from region to region and, most importantly, depend on the size and physical condition of the fruit. In July 2026, cracking (fruit splitting due to excess moisture) is not as significant a problem as in some previous seasons; nevertheless, such cases do occur.
According to data from the EastFruit portal as of the end of last week, the wholesale price of cherries in Moldova ranged from 30 to 40 lei/kg (compared to an average of 50 lei/kg during the same period last July).
The current wholesale price for sweet cherries in Moldova (an average of $1.99/kg) is lower than in Ukraine ($2.23/kg) and Poland ($3.61/kg). However, unlike these countries, Moldova remains not only a consumer but also an exporter of sweet cherries in July.
Market trends from previous years indicate that when the sweet cherry sales season extends into the second half of July, wholesale prices are guaranteed to rise. Often during such seasons, the average wholesale price at the end of the season exceeds the starting price (in 2026, it averaged 50 lei/kg).
Last weekend, the maximum retail price for top-quality cherries (40–45 lei/kg) in Chisinau was nearly on par with the wholesale price for high-quality cherries intended for export.
Sweet Cherries in Ukraine
Despite spring frosts and reports of crop losses, cherries in Ukraine are cheaper this season than last.
Ksenia Guseva, a fruit and vegetable market expert at “APK-Inform,” discussed this in an article for the magazine “Ukrainian Gardening.”
According to her, importers were the ones who miscalculated the most; they brought in expensive imported cherries at the end of May, counting on a shortage of Ukrainian produce. However, just a few days later, local cherries appeared en masse on the market at a significantly lower price.
In early summer, producers were selling cherries for 70–150 hryvnias per kilogram, depending on the variety and quality, whereas last year, even at the peak of the season, purchase prices often ranged from 150 to 230 hryvnias per kilogram, and the retail price sometimes exceeded 1,000 hryvnias per kilogram.
“The situation with cherries is very mixed. Sometimes there’s a harvest in one area, but a few hundred meters away there’s almost none. But the fact remains—this year’s cherries are cheaper than last year’s,” notes Guseva.
Ukrainian business media report that the bulk of the 2026 harvest of Ukrainian seasonal cherries was sold on the domestic market this year at 40–60 hryvnias per kilogram ($0.89–1.34 per kilogram).
Sweet Cherries in Romania
In mid-July, due to a sharp drop in cherry prices, the harvest in some parts of the country remains unharvested on the trees. According to farmers, the production cost of sweet cherries is about 4 RON/kg, while the wholesale price does not exceed 5 RON/kg ($1.09/kg), reports adevărul.ro.
