Cherries at a golden price, strawberries at a luxury price – why is fruit more expensive in Budapest than in Athens?

Unusual prices – but not by chance

Serious production problems lie behind the spectacular differences. A significant part of the domestic strawberry and cherry production suffered from frost and weather damage in the spring of 2024. According to Ferenc Apáti, president of FruitVeB, the frost waves in April and early May caused severe damage that is considered extraordinary even in a decade. The largest losses were experienced in the case of peaches, apricots, cherries, as well as plums, sour cherries and apples.

Cherries, for example, were particularly badly affected: 80–90% of the crop was lost, so the national quantity may only be a few thousand tons, said agricultural economist György Raskó. As a result, the vast majority of fresh table cherries will be imported this year, which will inevitably increase consumer prices.

Strawberries: hit by labor shortage and weather

The strawberry season did not turn out well either. Although the area under cultivation has increased in recent years – in 2024, strawberries were grown on 704 hectares, 22% more than in 2020 – harvesting poses a serious challenge. The greenhouse crop can be considered average, but the open-field crops suffered significant frost damage, with a yield loss of up to 80%. The weather also slowed down the ripening process, especially the overcast, cool May.

However, the greatest difficulty is caused by manual harvesting: due to the shortage of labor and rising wages, picking costs have soared, while mechanization has still not been solved. As a result, strawberries are not only more expensive, but also arrive on the markets late.