The strawberry season has just started, but soon the stores will be full of Norwegian berries. This year’s crop tastes very good if we believe the farmers themselves.
‘’It seems to be a good crop. We have had a very cool May, and then we get very good quality berries. I think that applies to the whole country,’’ said strawberry farmer, Geir Joa, who is based at Sola outside Stavanger, to NTB news.
He was among the very first to start harvesting this year’s Norwegian strawberries and had started already on May 9th.
“The season looks promising, both for those who are selling the berries and for those who are going to eat them,” said Joa.
Modest amounts
Currently, production is only underway in Rogaland, Vestfold and Buskerud, and modest amounts of strawberries are being delivered to the stores.
The Agricultural Directorate stated that two tonnes of strawberries have been delivered to stores this week.
‘’It’s pretty little, and yet early in the season. When the season is up and running, it could be usual to harvest 600–700 tonnes in a week,’’ said adviser Kaja Mathisen of the Agricultural Directorate.
She pointed out that the main Norwegian season is usually in July, when most of the berries from open-air production become ready.
Last year, however, the extreme heat led to the season starting a lot earlier.
Strawberry season is approaching
Geir Joa at Jordbergtorget at Sola has already delivered a good deal of berries to shops.
“We deliver new berries every day and sell a little ourselves. We deliver between 100 and 150 boxes a day,” he said.
He predicts that there will be a lot more berries on the market already in two weeks time.
“Then you’ll get berries all over Southern Norway and in Eastern Norway. In many places, the producers are completely at the starting line now. I guess there will be quite large amounts in late June,” he said.
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What does it cost?
The farmer was cautious about predicting the price level on the strawberries this year.
‘’Prices vary from one day to the next. It depends on the temperatures and how many are being produced, so it is quite impossible to know what prices we’ll get later’’ he said.
He currently sells berries to NOK 40 per basket of 300 grams, while the berries at the beginning of the season cost NOK 45 for 250 grams at Sola.
According to the Directorate of Agriculture, the farmers sell the berries for 100 kroner per kilogram on average this week.
Last year, 4,707 tonnes of Norwegian strawberries were sold here, while 10,347 tonnes of imported berries were sold according to figures from the Information Office for Fruit and Vegetables.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
