Sea of red as cranberry harvest starts in Belarus

Record ID: 1436125

  • Title: Sea of red as cranberry harvest starts in Belarus
  • Date: 10th October 2019
  • Summary: SELISHCHE, BELARUS (OCTOBER 7, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CRANBERRIES AFLOAT IN POND VARIOUS OF FARM WORKERS CORRALLING CRANBERRIES TOGETHER VARIOUS OF FARM WORKERS USING PITCHFORKS TO SEPARATE CRANBERRIES FROM WATER GRASS AND LEAVES, LOADING CRANBERRIES INTO MACHINE CRANBERRIES FLOATING VARIOUS OF CRANBERRIES FALLING FROM TRANSPORTATION MACHINE INTO TRUCK VARIOUS OF TRACTORS DRIVING TO LIFT CRANBERRIES FROM BOTTOM OF POND (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STATE FARM "POLESSKIE ZHURAVINY" (POLESSKIE CRANBERRIES) DIRECTOR, VASILIY LYAGUSSKIY, SAYING: "The harvest is not quite as we wanted. There have been some spring shake-ups: drought, followed by unexpected shower rains. However, we still expect to have a good result." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE HANDPICKING CRANBERRIES WOMAN CARRYING BAG OF CRANBERRIES VARIOUS OF CRANBERRY HARVESTERS SORTING CRANBERRIES (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CRANBERRY HARVESTER, NINA (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: "It depends on the berry. If the berry is good, we work a little longer, if not - we will finish around half past noon, maybe 1 p.m. After that we start sorting it. Here is how we do it - we shake, and then if it is still wet, we let it dry, we put it in a box and let it dry." VARIOUS OF FARM WORKERS SORTING CRANBERRIES MAN PUTTING BOX OF CRANBERRIES ON BOXES
  • Embargoed: 24th October 2019 16:26
  • Keywords: harvest cranberry harvest cranberry production Belarus farmer cranberry
  • Location: SELISHCHE, BELARUS
  • City: SELISHCHE, BELARUS
  • Country: Belarus
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B0IMUYH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The swamps of Belarus have turned red as the cranberry harvest hit full swing, with Belarusian farmers gathering the berries on Monday (October 7) near the village of Selishche.
    The cranberry - known for its tart, sweet taste - is sometimes called "red gold" in Belarus, where swamps cover around 14% of the territory, providing a vast amount of space for the fruit to grow.
    According to experts, the best time to collect cranberries is mid-autumn when they are most flavoursome.
    There are two ways of collecting cranberries - wet harvesting and dry harvesting. The wet method involves flooding the bog, then using tractors to separate the berries from the vine that they grow on. Each cranberry contains a small amount of air so that when agitated, they rise to the surface of the water. From there, they are collected and loaded into trucks for further proceeding. Dry harvesting is simpler: people just handpick the berries from the vines, as has been the tradition done for generations.
    Vasiliy Lyagusskiy, director of state-owned farm "Polesskie Zhuraviny" (Polesskie Cranberies) told Reuters that the harvest was not as good as expected due to weather conditions this year.
    A large portion of cranberries produced here are exported to Russia and the EU, but "Polesskie Zhuraviny" plans to explore Chinese market as well, Lyagusskiy said.
    (Production: Vasiliy Fedosenko, Dmitry Turlyun)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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