Luxury prices to tons of unpicked cherries: Romanian farmers struggle with market glut

Romanian cherry farmers are grappling with a paradox: a bountiful harvest in 2026 that threatens to bankrupt them. High production across the country, combined with subsidized imports from Greece, Turkey, and Spain, has flooded the market. This oversupply has driven prices down to levels below the cost of production, leaving many farmers with unsellable fruit.

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Fruits from abroad are subsidized and have better market conditions.

Constantin Tache, a mayor and experienced farmer in Dolj county, faces this dilemma with his 18 hectares of orchards, including eight of cherries. He explained that while it was a good year for cherries, the market is overwhelmed. "Fruits from abroad are subsidized and have better market conditions," he told "Adevărul."

Adding to the farmers' woes are the stringent terms offered by large supermarket chains. Tache recounted being asked to provide a 10-ton buffer stock, paid only at the end of the season, with additional deliveries compensated at 40% of the retail price two weeks after delivery. "This is an extremely disadvantageous condition," he stated.

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This is an extremely disadvantageous condition.

With production costs at 8-10 lei per kilogram, and prices falling to 5 lei/kg for the few cherries he could sell, Tache is considering abandoning his orchards if he cannot recoup his losses from the previous disastrous year. The situation highlights a critical disconnect between agricultural productivity and market access for Romanian farmers.

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We have to be able to sell at least part of the production we have.