Prespa apple growers halt harvest and demand emergency aid
Growers stopped picking after prices plunged to 15 denars/kg for table apples and 4 denars/kg for industrial fruit; they demand overdue subsidies and emergency aid.
Although the traditional festival "Prespa Apple Harvest 2026" officially opened in September, most orchards in the Prespa region are now quiet as growers have stopped harvesting and warned of heavy losses.
Economic squeeze on growers
Growers say the purchase prices offered by traders do not cover basic production costs and have therefore halted picking. This season consumer apples are being offered at 15 denars per kilogram compared with 25–30 denars last year, while industrial apples have fallen to 4 denars (last year 10–11 denars). With a production cost of around 10 denars per kilogram, farmers are operating at a significant loss.
The situation is worsened by expensive labour: daily wages for seasonal workers reach up to 50 euros, that is, 3,000 denars. To pay a single picker for one day, an orchard must gather and sell as much as 750 kilograms of industrial apples — and that calculation does not include rising costs for fuel, plant protection products and transport.
Producers say this price shock comes in one of Prespa's toughest years after a severe spring frost already halved the total yield.
Farmers also say they are still waiting for state payments: the additional 2 denars per kilogram for apples delivered from the 2024 harvest have not been paid. They demand immediate settlement of the overdue sum and an urgent intervention payment of 3 to 5 denars per kilogram to save the crop.
The Ministry of Agriculture says the procedure for the outstanding subsidies is underway and that everyone who meets the conditions will receive the money. Regarding purchase prices, the ministry points out that price levels are a market category and the state cannot set them administratively.
Photo: press material from the event
