Prices for mass vegetables in Ukraine and Moldova may rise in price
Farmers in Ukraine are getting rid of stocks
The situation is worse in Ukraine, which is seriously suffering from regular power outages and problems with transportation logistics. Earlier, Ukrainian mass media wrote about problems with storing onions and carrots. This week, farmers had difficulties with a more prosperous product – table beet.
As of today, Ukrainian farmers are ready to ship table beets in bulk at the price from 5 to 10 UAH/kg ($0.12-0.23/kg), depending on the quality and volume of batches, which is on average 12% cheaper than a week earlier.
According to key market players, the increase in supply of table beet from local farms has a negative impact on prices in this segment. Due to power outages, the quality of products in the storage facilities of small farms is rapidly deteriorating, forcing farmers to sell off existing stocks of these root crops, writes east-fruit.com.
Large suppliers, who are more self-sufficient in terms of power supply, are holding back sales to avoid ruining prices, which are already 59% below last year’s level. However, market analysts believe this will soon change. Inventories are low, oversupply will run out quickly, and prices will rise.
In Moldova, “expensive things will become more expensive”
In Moldova table beet was already the most expensive root vegetable of the “borscht set” all winter long. By the end of winter the price for this product of good quality from local producers reached the level of 7-8 lei/t. As market operators say, “the growth potential is almost exhausted – no one will buy more expensive”. But no one will sell cheaper. As it is not a fact that in this case time works against farmers.
Beets, carrots, onions in Ukraine in bulk now cost tens of percent cheaper than in Moldova. However, financial, commercial and logistical risks are too great to bring these goods to the Moldovan market from a neighboring country.
In Belarus, prices for beets and carrots are even lower, and in previous years, in late winter and spring, Belarusian imports accounted for the majority of the market for these products in Moldova.
Theoretically, this year, there will be a high demand for apples in Belarus in spring, including from Moldova. This means that exports and the possibility of “backloading” of vans with root vegetables may appear. The question, again, is in the risks.
Taking this into account, the operators of the Moldovan market of vegetables predict in the short term the rise in prices of mass demand products, even cabbage and onions, which are still abundant. Only potatoes will remain cheap.
