The first quantities of strawberries this year will be harvested in Čelić in the next ten days. This small town on the slopes of Majevac has been synonymous with strawberries for more than half a century and more than 95 percent of strawberry producers in the Tuzla Canton are located here, as well as the majority when we look at the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– We expect a very good year. The most critical period in terms of weather has passed and we expect a good harvest. In the next 10 days, smaller quantities will be harvested, and the harvest will last about 40 days in total, until the beginning of July at the latest – says strawberry producer Hajrudin Karamović from Čelić, whose company has six hectares planted with strawberries.
At the moment, most of the strawberries in our markets and stores are from Turkey and Greece, and they will gradually be replaced by ours, from Čelica.
Karamović tells us that there are approximately more than 600 registered producers in TK, and almost all of them are from Čelić.
When it comes to price, he says that last year, on average, producers received 3.5 KM per kilogram, and when it comes to export, the price was from two to two and a half euros.
– We do not have agreed prices, except for a small part that goes for export. Our shelf prices mostly depend on retailers. Last year’s average for producers was three and a half marks per kilogram, and the final price, as always, will depend on the retailers – says Karamović.
Apart from the BiH market, Čelica strawberries only go to Serbia and Croatia.
– For the time being, we are not ready for other markets due to border problems. Strawberries cannot stand at borders, they are a softer fruit that must be at the consumer’s place within 24 hours – says Karamović. Factor.
