Local lender Banca Transilvania has included cherries in its Friday exchange rate, as an irony to the fact that these fruits are very expensive in this period.

Imported cherries started selling in Romanian markets at the beginning of May for prices of up to RON 120 (about EUR 25) per kg, local Mediafax reported. Agri-food specialists say that this is nothing else but pure market speculation while the Romanians started making jokes on social media about the fruits' extremely high prices.

In this context, Banca Transilvania (BT) decided to also add the cherries to its May 17 exchange rate. Thus, BT announced a rate of 4 cherries per USD on Friday, and of 4.5 cherries per EUR. Meanwhile, 1 GBP was equal to 5 cherries.

“Because we adapt to macroeconomic conditions,” reads the bank’s Facebook post announcing the new exchange rate.

Social media is full of cherry jokes in this period:

"Women have stopped taking selfies with Louis Vuitton bags, they use the cherry bag instead" or

"- Please give me RON 10 worth of cherries!

- Either you take the whole cherry or you don't get any, I won't cut one for you"

Cherry prices in farmers' markets usually go down toward the end of May when locally produced fruits reach the market.

Last year, local courier firm Fan Courier also joined the cherry jokes. The company announced in a Facebook post that it didn't transport valuable objects such as works of art, gold, silver, diamonds, and cherries.

newsroom@romania-insider.com

(Opening photo source: Pexels.com)