Seasonal Fruit Picker

You will pick raspberries and, later in the season, plums and apples on plantations just outside Arilje. Days start around 6am to beat the heat, with the heaviest picking done before noon. You carry a picking belt with collection buckets, move along the rows, and sort ripe from unripe by hand. Full crates go to the weighing station and then into the cold store, so pace and care both matter because bruised fruit gets rejected. On rainy days the work shifts to grading and packing under the shed. Expect six day weeks during peak, with Sundays usually off.

Able to work on your feet outdoors for full shifts, including in heat

Gentle, quick hands so the fruit is not damaged

Reliable on early starts, six days a week in peak season

No experience needed, but you must keep up with the row pace

Basic English or Serbian enough to follow simple instructions

Shared accommodation near the plantations, paid by the employer

Morning transport from the housing to the fields

One hot meal during the long picking days

Help with paperwork and arrival for workers coming from abroad

Weekly pay during the season

You start at the picking rate and the people who show up every day and keep their crates clean get noticed fast. Pickers who learn to grade and run the weighing station move up to a higher daily rate within the season. The better number is for those who take on a row leader role and help train the newer hands.

The plantations sit on the hills around Arilje, so the ground is uneven and you will be bending and reaching for most of the shift. Summers here are hot by midday, which is why work starts early and slows in the afternoon. The crew is small and you work close together along the rows.