Poland's strawberry production is expected to hit rock bottom this season with a decrease of up to 40% predicted this year by the Society of Development of Dwarf Orchards.

This season's potential volumes of 99,600MT would be the lowest in 40 years due to a mild winter with no snow leaving the plants uncovered.

In 2011 production reached 166,000MT with 85,000MT of frozen and 14,000MT of fresh strawberries exported valued at US$190 million dollars, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

Poland  is the largest exporter of frozen strawberries in the E.U.  and the second largest producer after Spain. More than 90% of its exports go to Europe with Germany and the Netherlands accounting for 50%.

Over the last 10 years Poland's average share of E.U. production has been 20% but it has been losing ground recently due to increased competition from China, Egypt and Morocco.

This year's smaller crop and higher procurement prices are expected to create a difficult situation for Polish exporters to supply external demand.

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