After a sharp rise in the price of greenhouse cucumbers last week in Ukraine, prices began to decline rapidly, analysts of the EastFruit project report. As representatives of growers note, the price decline was quite expected, since the supply of cucumbers of the second turnover is growing on the market every day, while the demand remains relatively low.

Today greenhouse plants are selling cucumbers at 10-15 UAH/kg ($0.38-0.56/kg), which is on average 35% cheaper than at the end of the last work week.

According to the growers, a weakening demand forces them to reduce prices for greenhouse cucumbers. To date, retail chains and wholesale companies purchase greenhouse cucumbers in small batches because of extremely low retail sales rates. The greenhouse cucumber growers failed to avoid the price decline, even despite a significant decrease in competition with open field cucumbers.

Today, the price of greenhouse cucumbers in Ukraine is already on average 16% lower than in mid-September 2020. At the same time, most representatives of the growers assume there might be a further price reduction in this segment, as the new supply of cucumbers on the market increases.

Сообщение Prices for greenhouse cucumbers collapsed in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

Open field red tomato prices have doubled this week in Georgia. The average wholesale price on August 5 was 1.6 GEL ($0.52) compared to 0.8 GEL ($0.26) one week earlier. What has affected the market?

Tomato grower from Shida Kartli have talked about expected high prices with EastFruit yet at the beginning of July.

Source: EastFruit

According to EastFrut monitoring results, open field red tomato prices at the beginning of August, during the last three years, were higher than at the end of the month. This happens because the tomato supply at this period generally is low. In August, tomato harvest ends in Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti regions and the Shida Kartli region becomes the main growers of open field red tomatoes. The season in Shida Kartli has just started, but supply is yet low.

Growers expect that after the tomato season reaches its peak, at the end of August, prices will fall again, but still will be higher than the previous year because fewer tomatoes were planted this year.

Ioseb Parekhelashvili is one of the tomato grower from Shida Kartli. This year he has only a pink variety of tomatoes on 2.2 ha. In 2020 he had 10 ha of red tomatoes, but farmgate prices were very low and the year ended with losses. After failing last year, he decided not to plant red tomatoes at all this year.

Another grower from the Shida Kartli region, Levan Guraspashvili, also planted fewer tomatoes this year. In an earlier conversation with EastFruit, he talked about possible high prices for the same reason. He started selling tomatoes several days ago and is paid 1.3 GEL per kg ($0.42)  in the field. He also expects that prices will go down at the end of August, but not as much as it was last year.

Another reason that was mentioned by the farmers and that might adversely affect tomato harvest this year is the low temperatureat th e beginning of May.

Сообщение Open field red tomato prices have doubled this week in Georgia появились сначала на EastFruit.

Ukrainian berry growers have stepped up harvesting of open field blueberries this week, analysts of the EastFruit project report. The start of the season was delayed by 10-14 days this year in comparison with the previous one, but started with lower prices. At the moment, prices for small wholesale lots of blueberries from local farms vary in the range of UAH 250-350/kg ($ 9.12-12.77/kg), which is on average 20% cheaper than for the first lots last year.

According to the market players, the first batches of open field blueberries became available on the market at the end of last week, but the quantity was very limited. At the same time, the starting price range for this berry was quite wide. In open food markets, retail prices for the first blueberries ranged from UAH 350/kg ($ 12.80/kg) to UAH 500/kg ($ 18.30/kg). Producers who offer retail delivery to their customers set a similar cost. Nevertheless, by the end of the week, some retailers were forced to lower the minimum price threshold to UAH 270/kg ($ 9.90/kg).

Meanwhile, the main supply of blueberries in supermarkets in Ukraine was local greenhouse and imported blueberries. At the end of last week, the price could reach 400-550 UAH/kg ($ 14.70-20.20/kg) in retail. The supply of first expensive berries to the stores was rather limited, but there were no problems selling them so far. In the segment of packaged berries, mainly blueberries from the Netherlands were presented, and the price could reach 600-700 UAH/kg ($ 22.00-25.70/kg).

The wholesale markets of Ukraine also offer both local and imported berries, but prices are gradually decreasing. At the beginning of this week, the average price for local greenhouse blueberries and berries imported from Spain was UAH 300/kg ($ 11.00/kg), and the first small wholesale lots of open field blueberries may be even cheaper. If producers had to quickly sell off the leftover products, in exceptional cases prices dropped to 230 UAH/kg ($ 8.4/kg).

Producers also expect that prices may decline as early as next week, as the supply of blueberries on the market will rise sharply. It should be noted that the production of blueberries in Ukraine this year will noticeably increase, as more and more plantations start fruiting, which were laid down during the blueberry boom in the country, when it even became the second state in the world in terms of expanding the area planted with blueberries. Moreover, Ukrainian producers are not going to stop, and the area of blueberries plantations can further increase.

Сообщение The season of open field blueberries started with low prices in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

Analysts of Ukrainian EastFruit team report the beginning of a sharp decline in prices for strawberries on the Ukrainian market. This is due to improved weather conditions and high air temperatures, which led to an acceleration of ripening of strawberries in most regions of Ukraine.

Yesterday prices for strawberries in small wholesale in Kyiv did not fall below 50 UAH/kg ($ 1.84 per kg), and today strawberries can already be purchased even for 35 UAH/kg ($ 1.3). A sharp increase of offers of strawberries is noted on the wholesale markets in the country, and factories for freezing of berries significantly increased purchases. Wholesale prices for berries in the southern regions are similar to prices in Kyiv, but strawberries in the western region of the country, in particular in Lviv, are sold on average by 7-10 UAH/kg more expensive, because the season is just beginning there and mainly berries from more southern regions are sold.

It should be noted that prices for strawberries remained at a relatively high level this season due to excessive rainfall. However, APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits analysts expect that the strawberry harvest this year may be close to a record. In addition, the 2021 berry season began with a serious delay, which was further exacerbated by rainy and cloudy weather.

Therefore, there were no open field strawberries on the Ukrainian market for a long time, and farmers producing strawberries in greenhouses could earn well by selling berries on average twice as expensive as last year at the same time. Apparently, Polish farmers are prudently massively switching to growing strawberries in greenhouses.

The weather forecast for Ukraine for the next few days is quite favorable, although precipitation is still expected in some regions, but not heavy. The air temperature rises. This means that the peak of strawberry harvesting in the central and northern regions may be on June 15-18, when prices may drop to the minimum.

Will the wholesale price for strawberries in Ukraine drop to the level of UAH 25/kg (less than USD 1), as it was during the peak of the 2019 season? Most market participants and farmers believe that this is quite likely. However, high quality berries of the best varieties can be sold at a much higher price even during periods of extremely low prices, because this is one of the most problematic positions for supermarket chains, and many of them are willing to pay premium prices to suppliers of such berries.

Сообщение Prices for strawberries in Ukraine started to decline sharply появились сначала на EastFruit.

The season of greenhouse and imported tomatoes in Georgia is coming to an end. For now supply of seasonal tomatoes grown in high polyethylene tunnels has increased, soon open ground tomatoes will appear on the market and accordingly, prices will decrease further.

How do greenhouse producers assess the past season and what are the expectations of the producers of open field in the upcoming season?

Source: east-fruit.com

The local tomatoes in Georgia are available almost all year round, however, the largest amount of local production appears on the market in June, when the season kicks off in high tunnels, and then proceeds with open field tomatoes.

In winter and early spring, Turkish tomatoes dominate the market. Accordingly, prices reach a maximum in January-February and a minimum in August and September. This trend in price change is typical for both red and pink tomatoes, although the price of pink tomatoes exceeds the price of red ones all year round. According to EastFruit monitoring, wholesale prices for pink tomatoes in 2019-2020 were about 50% higher than prices for red tomatoes. Last year, the minimum price for both pink and red tomatoes was set in September, with an average wholesale price of 0.7 GEL/kg ($0.22) for red tomatoes and 1.37 GEL/kg ($0.43) for pink tomatoes.

The largest greenhouse complex in Georgia belongs to Georgian Agro House Ltd., whose products are known to customers under the brand name Planta.

Planta grows red, pink and cherry tomatoes in the greenhouses. The harvest begins in September and continues until June. From September 2020 to the present day, the company has sold 1,500 tons of tomatoes, which is almost equal in quantity to the 2019-2020 yield, although due to the pandemic there have been changes in sales of packaged vs unpacked (wholesale) products. According to company representative Luka Sturua, sales of packaged vegetables including tomatoes have grown by about 20% this season, while sales of unpackaged ones have declined. Planta’s unpackaged products are mainly sold in agrarian markets.

Sturua notes that demand for their products, including tomatoes, has declined this year on agricultural markets due to the pandemic, as their main wholesale buyer is the HoReCa sector.

Tomato production in greenhouses will be finished at the end of June and will resume in September, although in July-August the company plans to purchase tomatoes from local farmers and thus not stop supplying packaged tomatoes to the market. Sturua notes that in the summer season, the company buys from the population only pink tomatoes that meet the company’s quality requirements, but high-quality red tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are rare.

High tunnel tomatoes are mainly produced in regions Kvemo Kartli, Samegrelo and Imereti and are available on the market from April to late autumn. Now the market sells mainly tomatoes produced in Kvemo Kartli and Samegrelo, season soon starts in Imereti too. In the western regions, mainly pink tomatoes are produced, and in Kvemo Kartli both pink and red varieties. One of the largest tomato growers in Kvemo Kartli is Abaz Musaev, who owns 4 hectares of greenhouses where he grows pink tomatoes and works only with large buyers. Musaev started harvesting in April. Now Musayev sells pink tomatoes at 3 GEL / kg, ($0.92) noting that this year prices are about one GEL lower than last year. Musaev attributes the low price to lower demand due to the pandemic and a possible increase in supply this year. Although it is worth noting that due to the high quality that can be achieved through the advice of a specialist invited from Turkey, the price of tomatoes from this manufacturer is usually higher than the market.

The planting of mostly red tomato seedlings in open field in Shida Kartli began in May, and the first harvest is expected in August. Farmers assess the last season negatively, claiming that local prices fell to 0.4–0.7 GEL / kg, ($0.13-$0.22) which made it unprofitable to harvest tomatoes.

Levan Guraspashvili is one of those who decided to plant fewer tomatoes this year. Last year, the farmer had 23 hectares of tomatoes, and this year he only cultivates 8 hectares. Considering the high production costs (8-10 thousand GEL per hectare) and the unsuccessful last year’s season, the farmer no longer dared to produce large quantities of tomatoes, although, in his opinion, prices could be better this year, as other farmers around him have also reduced the area under the tomatoes.

Сообщение Georgia prepares for open field tomato season появились сначала на EastFruit.

Although April started well for Georgian cucumber growers, average wholesale prices for greenhouse cucumbers (with bumps) fell 4 four times in May. This is not a typical situation, as prices are significantly lower compared to the same period last year.

What factors influenced prices this season?

Source: EastFruit

As a rule, prices for cucumbers in Georgia reach their minimum in July, when open field cucumbers are actively sold on the market. Last year, prices began to fall in the first week of June and hit their lowest in early July. The minimum average price of pimple cucumber last year at the end of May was 0.3 GEL/ kg ($ 0.1). However, this year the price decline started in the first week of May, which is unusual.

Weekly price monitoring by EastFruit shows that if in April of this year the average price for a cucumber(with spines) was 3 GEL / kg ($ 0.9), then in May the average price was already below 1 GEL ($ 0.3) – the price decreased by about 3 times. Compared to May last year, this year prices are 132% lower.

In Georgia, spring cucumbers are grown in film tunnels, mainly in two regions: Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) and Kvemo Kartli (Southern Georgia). Harvesting in Kvemo Kartli usually begins in the second half of March, and later in the Kakheti region, in the second half of April.

Last year, farmers from Kvemo Kartli faced difficulties in selling cucumbers due to a pandemic, when the region was quarantined and farmers were unable to transport the product for sale in the capital’s market. Last year was not the best for Kakhetian producers, as the spring harvest of pimpled cucumbers was small due to bad weather and plant diseases.

Geronti Sivsivadze, spokesman for the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture in Kvemo Kartli, told EastFruit that last year despite a poor start to the season, Kvemo Kartli farmers got good prices for cucumbers and decided to grow more cucumbers this this year.

“Today almost every family in Kvemo Kartli, Marneuli municipality has a greenhouse and grows cucumbers. Relatively high prices last year were provided by the support of the state in the sale of the harvest during quarantine, as well as crop failure in Kakheti. In the same season, the production of cucumbers increased with the hope of high profits but the excess supply puts pressure on prices, ”said Geronti Sivsivadze.

Farmers themselves also note an excess of supply, Abaz Musayev, from  Kvemo Kartli, in a conversation with EastFruit said that last year, despite the problems caused by the pandemic, for cucumber producers was profitable, so this year the production of cucumbers in region has increased

According to the representative of the regional department of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture in Kakheti Vasily Germanishvili, last year there were serious problems with the cucumber harvest in Kakheti due to weather and widespread diseases in greenhouses, but this year the harvest is good. According to farmers from the Lagodekhi municipality in Kakheti (160 km to Tbilisi), the price of cucumbers “from the field” is now 0.2–0.3 GEL/ kg ($ 0.06- $ 0.1). The buyers are mainly intermediaries who work with chain supermarkets.

Сообщение Cucumber prices in Georgia are falling rapidly появились сначала на EastFruit.

Since the beginning of this week, Ukrainian producers from the southern regions have started selling strawberries from open fields, according to analysts of the EastFruit project. At the same time, according to the data of regular price monitoring, the harvesting season for open field strawberries in the western and central regions of the country is significantly delayed due to the rather cold first half of spring. In 2020, the first strawberries from open fields arrived on the market at least 10 days earlier than this season – from May 7 to 10.

At the same time, many producers see a positive part in this, since strawberries in different regions of the country will not be harvested simultaneously, and, accordingly, their balanced supply on the market will allow producers to keep the prices at a higher level for a longer period.

As farmers note, the flowering of strawberries in the current season began later, since there was no spring weather in Ukraine until the second half of April. In the first ten days of May, along with an increase in temperature throughout the country, cloudy days with thunderstorm rains and sharp drops of temperature ​​were recorded, especially at night. All these factors are currently slowing down the ripening of strawberries and only the producers in the southern regions of Ukraine have started harvesting.

All these factors have led to the fact that today the first batches of strawberries from open field are sold at 70-130 UAH/kg ($ 2.54-4.72/kg), which is 1.5 times more expensive than in the same period last year.

Moreover, the prices of strawberries from greenhouses today are comparable with the ones from open fields and wholesale batches of strawberries from greenhouses go on the market in the range of 120-140 UAH/kg ($ 4.39-5.12/kg). According to the forecasts of EastFruit experts, prices for greenhouse berries will continue to fall, while more strawberries from open fields arrive on the market.

But how long will prices for first strawberries of the season surpass those of previous seasons? Market experts and producers do not exclude a decrease in prices in this segment in the near future, provided that the weather in the main regions of its production is warm and sunny, which will further contribute to a gradual increase in the supply of strawberries from open fields on the market.

“According to our forecasts, despite later start of the first harvest of strawberries from the open field, the peak of the harvesting season will in any case be in mid-June, as usual. Given there was no negative impact of night frosts in May 2021 on plants, the supply of strawberries on the market will several times exceed last year’s indicators, respectively, wholesale prices for strawberries may well become more affordable than in the previous season, at least twice,”- Olexandr Khorev, head of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project, comments on the market developments.

The next large-scale offline conference FTrade Club Berries , which will be held in Brovary on May 27-28, 2021, will be devoted to prospects of the market for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and other berry crops in the current season. You can join the leading players of the berry business in Ukraine until May 24 by filling out the registration form for participation.

Сообщение The season of open field strawberries in Ukraine started 10 days later than last year появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, this week there is a decrease in the supply of greenhouse tomatoes in the southern regions of Ukraine. At the same time, the demand for them remains high, which provokes a rise in prices.

The pink tomato is in high demand, which is now sold for up to 35 UAH / kg ($ 1.3 per kg) in small wholesale. For an ordinary red round tomato as the cheapest position among tomatoes for the fresh market, the price is 27-30 UAH / kg ($ 1.0-1.1). Yellow tomatoes are bought at about the same price as pink ones and even a little cheaper, and cherry tomatoes, on average, cost 45-50 UAH / kg ($ 1.6-1.8).

It is worth noting that a ground tomato is already sold on the market, but its prices are much lower. Wholesale buyers have little interest in ground tomatoes as they understand that the risk of spoilage is much higher. Therefore, prices for ground tomato are, on average, two times lower than for greenhouse products. Besides, there are “salad tomato” for the fresh market and a “plum” tomato for conservation. Prices for both of these varieties are approximately the same.

Thus, prices for tomatoes in Ukraine in the middle of summer remain relatively high. Besides, they are higher than in other countries of the region, except Russia.

Сообщение Tomato supply in southern Ukraine reduced sharply while prices increased появились сначала на EastFruit.