Fresh wild mushrooms and berries are in short supply this year, with both demand and supply falling, says the head of the Lithuanian Association of Wild Mushroom and Berry Entrepreneurs. Blueberries, chanterelles and other forest fruits are slowly becoming a luxury item, according to Virginijus Varanavičius.

„I used to think about it a lot, that it's becoming a luxury item. (...) The prices of blueberries have risen a lot, because of the poor harvest“, he told BNS.

Vytautas Česnys, head of the village community of Nowa Valkininkai, which has a market for such goods, said that the forests are mainly frequented by older people.

„Young people don't want to, young people just eat“, – V. Česnys told BNS.

„The standard of living is rising, the forests are emptying, those rural people who used to go because Vilnius and Kaunas residents don't go, don't pick mushrooms and don't take them to the market, and the villages, you go to the countryside, and you'll see that the countryside is empty, –“, – emphasised Mr. Varanavičius, who also owns the Varėnos forest products processing and export company „Vipreka“.

Demand for fresh forest products is also declining in Germany and France, where most of Lithuania's blueberries and squirrels are exported, he said.

„Those who had a tradition of eating those wild mushrooms are slowly passing away, just like here, and those traditions are slowly diminishing. I am not saying that there is no use, there is use, but it is much less than it used to be. If these mushrooms become more expensive, they are no longer needed," he said.

That is why people in Lithuania are still actively visiting markets, according to Mr Chesnis.

„There is no decrease in the number of visitors to the market (BNS), the same. Our market is now being reconstructed, beautified, made more civilized, so that both the traders and the buyers are comfortable," said the community leader.

V. According to Varanavičius, chanterelles are currently being bought at 4.5 euros per kilo, blueberries at 3 euros.