Strawberry Growers Promise First Strawberries by End of May — As Optimistic as Liepāja Theater Season Without Buses Full of Riga Residents

Strawberry grower Guntars Dzērve from SIA 'Mad Nordic' announced with the same optimism that Liepāja Theater management shows each season when hoping that this time Riga residents won't arrive by the busload to their shows, that the first Latvian strawberries could be available by the end of May. 'Much depends on weather conditions,' notes Dzērve, using the same phrase farmers have been using since the dawn of time.

Dzērve also revealed a shocking truth — growers who didn't know how to winterize their plants have lost them. This is about as surprising as discovering that winter is cold. Meanwhile, those who hoped for a mild winter have suffered losses. 'We hoped this winter would be like a greenhouse outdoors,' says one anonymous grower, 'but it turns out winter is winter.'

Currently, seedlings are being imported from the Netherlands and Germany, since apparently our strawberries haven't yet learned to grow without foreign assistance. Mineral fertilizers are reportedly stable in supply, but plant protection product prices are rising — just like prices for everything else, except optimism.

Strawberry prices will remain at last year's levels, but if fuel costs two euros per liter, then... well, then it will be what it will be. 'If everything gets more expensive, then strawberries will get more expensive too,' Dzērve comments philosophically, demonstrating economic knowledge that surpasses even the Prime Minister's advisors. Meanwhile, Zane Silgale from 'Latvijas zemenes' promises that berries will appear in May — if, of course, spring doesn't turn out as surprising as this winter.