The quality level ranges from mediocre (variegated, at different stages of ripeness) to good (practically indistinguishable from imported berries). The difference is in the display: imported strawberries are laid out in neat rows in the container. Strawberries, declared as Moldovan product – in bulk. However, the most noticeable difference is in the price: Greek strawberries – 80-100 lei/kg, local strawberries -120-180 lei/kg. At the same time (a rare case!) Moldovan strawberries are offered at the price of imported blueberries from last year’s harvest.
Earlier, Logos Press suggested that even patriotically-minded connoisseurs of the “special taste” of local strawberries are unlikely to agree en masse to buy them at a price 25-30% higher than that of Greek berries. Apparently, Moldovan berry farmers do not share this idea, and they have set rather bold price tags for early Moldovan strawberries.
Anneta Ganenco, Chair of the Association of Berry Producers Pomușoarele Moldovei, does not see anything terrible in this circumstance: “the market of early berries is very plastic and dynamic – if the offer prices of Moldovan strawberries are considered overpriced by their target buyer and sales fall, the prices will change literally from one day to the next.
Moreover, in the coming days the structure of supply will also change. Until now, the bulk of Moldovan strawberries, in particular, in Chisinau retailers came from the central and, especially, northern regions of the country (Soroca, Donduseni). Southern berries have not reached the capital’s market yet. But soon some large farmers from Gagauzia will start supplying strawberries of varieties relatively new for the Moldovan market (“Clery” and others) to Chisinau. Probably, this will also affect the price situation.
