Radenka from Kragujevac is breaking records in picking of cherries: She picks 250 kilos per day, and makes a small fortune in a month (PHOTO) (VIDEO)

Cherry picked in Serbia can make on average from 1.200 to 3.500 dinars, 2.000 to 3.000 in picking raspberry, 1.300 to 2.000 for picking grapes. 

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Grandma Zora is 77 years old, and sometimes she makes 1.000 euros per month, in ARILJE!

Prices are similar, but the difference is elsewhere - whether the boss pays for transportation, whether he gives a meal, and some farmers pay for cigarettes to the pickers.

Some people have no problem finding workers, while others are desperate and they almost beg people to come.

The harvest of cherries has just begun in Sumadija and Pomoravlje. In Staro Selo, halfway between Kragujevac and Jagodina, the host Sinisa Aleksic is preparing for the harvest. He will pay workers from 12 to 14 dinars for one kilo of picked cherries, and he will hire a bus to transport workers from Jagodina and Kragujevac.

Foto: Telegraf

- I put an add few weeks ago in Kragujevac and around 30 workers showed up, i hope that no one will cancel. Its getting harder to find workers, the older workers got older, and can't do it, and there are a lot of young people who would prefer to work for 20.000 rather than going to the field - said Aleksic.

Host Momcilo Todorovic is harvesting, and his orchard is full with workers, mostly family.

Foto: Telegraf

- We are paying pickers from 10 to 15 dinars per kilo. One picker picks around 150 kilos of cherries per day. We have a woman who picks 250 kilos per day. Workers in our village can make more than 3.000 dinars, the fastest and the best ones - said Todorovic.

And the fastest is Radenka Petrovic from the Kragujevac village Velika Sugubina with the personal record of 250 kilos in a day.

- I pick that much if i work from 7 AM to 7 PM, which means 12 hours. I am picking cherries for six years, i have my tempo, and some kind of technique - said Radenka.

Foto: Wikipedia.org / Свифт

Cedomir Stevanovic from the Sumadija village of Zirovnica, a famous fruit grower and winegrower, employs 1.380 workers annually on grapes, apple, plum and apricot harvest.

Many people have been working with him for years, so he has no problems finding workers.

- I am paying 1.3 euros per hours, and up to 60 workers are there at all times. On the initiative of the workers that are constantly here, they can work for 8 hours, not more. I think that the workers are right, 8 hours of work per day were made for reason.

Foto: Telegraf

- After eight hours, people are tired, they can't rest for tomorrow. My workers pack up and leave at 16 PM. They make 1.300 dinars for 8 hours and they have lunch - said Stevanovic adding that he has no problems finding workers.

Farmers say that almost the same people always go to harvest, first they pick strawberries, then cherries, and then apricots and peaches, raspberries, plums, grapes and apples for the end.

About raspberries, few thousand seasonal workers were missing few days ago in Arilje, and raspberry harvest employs around 15.000 workers from all parts of Serbia. Farmers say that it is getting harder to get good workers with each passing year.

Foto: Telegraf

Dragan Bogdanovic, the president of the association of raspberries from Arilje "Vilamet spas", told RTS that raspberry pickers have a daily wage of 2,000 to 2,200 dinars, three meals a day free of charge and a lodging.

- 3.300 dinars is offered to raspberry pickers in Pozega, but the response is still low and around 5.000 workers is still missing - said Bogdanovic.

In the last 24 hours, the wages were offered to the pickers of around 2.000 dinars, in few places up to 2.500, and one up to 3.000 dinars.

This is how the fastest picker of cherries work:

(Telegraf.co.uk / Marija Raca)