The new EU rules aim to stem excess and unnecessary packaging, meaning as things stand individual and smaller quantities of cucumbers and other fruit and vegetables on a still-to-be-finalized list will have to be sold loose, or if plastic-wrapped in much larger quantities.

Kristo Eisenberg, CEO of Estonian fresh cucumber and herb producer Grüne Fee, noted unpackaged produce spoils quickly, making this an unsuitable solution for long cucumbers, lettuce and some herbs.

Since cucumbers are mostly water, without shrink wrap they will dry out quickly, within three to four days, compared with plastic-wrapped cucumbers' shelf life of as much as three weeks in the right conditions.

Part of the issue relates to the supply chain to retail. "If we pick a cucumber in the morning and send it out, at best, at lunchtime or the next day, it does not go straight to the store. It goes to a central warehouse, from where the cucumbers are delivered to stores within 24 to 48 hours," Eisenberg said, which would mean the produce would be well past its best even when arriving in store.

When long cucumbers do make it to store shelves unwrapped, they do not stay there very long, Eisenberg went on, due to them spoiling. Shorter cucumbers are less susceptible to this deterioration, he said, thanks to their thicker skin.

A product spoilage rise of 30-50 percent would trigger a significant rise in prices, he added.

Ultimately, the regulation taking effect would most likely be followed by, a large proportion of fruit and vegetables could disappearing from stores.

The European Commission is due to publish guidelines by February 12, 2027 outlining in greater detail how requirements related to pre-packaging are to be applied.

On Monday, Ministry of Climate spokesperson Dagny Repp said Estonia and other European Union countries will no longer be able to sell individually plastic-wrapped cucumbers or peppers packaged in pairs from the start of 2030.

The rules would prevent pre-packaging quantities of less than 1.5 kilograms in plastic wrap. Organic products and more delicate fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, are often so presented. A suggested alternative is using the thin plastic bags available at the fruit and vegetables section of most supermarkets.

The regulation generally also provides for exemptions from various restrictions, which led Eisenberg to hope long cucumbers will be among those exemptions. At the same time, the draft bill which will transpose the EU directive into domestic law is only at its coordination round at present, with the deadline for stakeholder feedback being August 17. This means, Eisenberg went on, nothing will be certain until after that point at the earliest.

Domestically grown long cucumbers are available in supermarkets, including those produced by Grüne Fee.

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