Local growers are satisfied with current prices for onions in Ukraine: according to price monitoring data by EastFruit, onion prices on the Ukrainian market are now almost three times higher than last year, and a third higher than in 2019.

Large growers of vegetables have severely limited their sales since the beginning of autumn and keep onions in storage in the hope of a bigger rise in prices in the second half of the season. As a result, mainly onions from smaller farms with unequipped storage facilities or unsuitable for long-term storage are available on the market now.

How justified are such hopes, and when can we expect a rise in the price of onions in Ukraine?

“A record starting price of at least the last five to six years in Ukraine was noted at the beginning of autumn this year. Nevertheless, its further growth was very slow, and the current highest price in the country is $0.37/kg – this is the level when onions from Kazakhstan begin to enter the Ukrainian market,” Ievgen Kuzin, head of international projects Fruit-Inform.com comments on the situation.

The decline in onion production in Ukraine and problems with the harvest quality due to weather this year inspired optimism for those who stored high-quality onions. From the end of summer, rumors about a high probability of repeating the developments of the 2018/2019 season started spreading on the Ukrainian market. From autumn to mid-spring the price of onion in Ukraine jumped more than fivefold then! Nevertheless, it does not mean this will happen the exact way it did then.

“According to our estimates, the situation on the Ukrainian market will not develop similarly to the 2018/19 season. Firstly, according to the Fruit-Inform.com project, although the production of onion in Ukraine this year will be one of the lowest in the past few years, it will still exceed the volume of 2018. Secondly, the market conditions in neighboring countries are completely different now: for example, onion production is not so high in Central Asia, while the harvest in the EU will be a record one. Thirdly, if the quality of the harvested crop in Ukraine will allow us to preserve the total volume until spring, one should not exclude the likelihood of a sharp increase in the supply after the opening of storage facilities” continues Ievgen Kuzin.

Recall that onion imports from Central Asian countries in 2018 began to play a key role in the markets of many more Western countries since the middle of autumn, and by spring the demand for their onions became booming in both Eastern and Western Europe.

Now there are only small batches of onions from Kazakhstan in Ukraine, but their availability already limits the rise in prices for local onions. For example, in Tajikistan, the current average price is one third higher than in early December 2018 due to a decrease in local production. A similar situation seems to be developing in Uzbekistan, where the harvest is also relatively low, according to local players.

“On one hand, the production of onion in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the current season is relatively low, which reduces the volume of possible supplies of Central Asian onions to the Ukrainian market. On the other hand, this region is not limited only to these two countries, and Kazakhstan is now actively supplying the markets of the Russian Federation, Belarus and, so far, to a lesser extent, Ukraine.” comments Ievgen Kuzin.

Moving west, we note that in Russia, Moldova and Ukraine itself, prices do not yet reach the level of 2018, and in Poland they are now 40% lower than at the beginning of December of the 2018/19 season! In addition, EU onion production this year will be one third higher than in 2018, according to estimates by the analytical agency AMI.

“In our opinion, the main difference between the current season of onion in Ukraine and that in 2018/19 may be a shift in the activity of Ukrainian imports from east to west. According to our colleagues from AMI, onion production in the EU in 2021 will be the highest since at least 2015, which is confirmed by the current three-year minimum prices in Germany. The surplus of onions grown in the EU will need to be exported somewhere, and Ukraine may be a good option for them, since it will not require the expensive sea logistics for supplies. For example, the current average price for sorted yellow onions in the Netherlands is quite comparable to the producer price in Kazakhstan and 45% lower than in Ukraine. Thus, the situation on the Ukrainian market in the second half of the season may depend on the level of onion prices in the EU, provided that the supply of local onions is greatly reduced.” Ievgen Kuzin sums up.

Сообщение Will onion prices go up in Ukraine? появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, Kazakhstan decreased by 50% the volume of potato exports, and increased its imports by 2.6 times in the first eight months of 2021. The geography of potato exports and imports has also significantly changed.

“2021 is a very unusual year for the potato market in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It started with a relatively low price level in many countries of the region, except for the Russian Federation, as due to lockdowns, there was again an excess of potatoes in Europe, that were not demanded by the producers of French fries. These potatoes were exported by EU countries, especially the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany at very low prices. Weather conditions during the growing season of potatoes also turned out to be unfavorable in such large producing countries as Russia and Belarus. Therefore, potato prices soared to record levels during the harvesting and the impressive imports started” explains Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“Kazakhstan imported late potatoes from Russia, and early ones from Uzbekistan in 2020. Kazakh potatoes are exported mainly to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. However, potatoes in Russia were too expensive in 2021 – prices almost always doubled the level of 2020-2019. Therefore, Kazakh importers had to look for alternatives to Russian potatoes, and prices in their domestic market also remained relatively high, negatively affecting exports,” the expert explains.

As a result, the main volumes of potatoes in 2021 Kazakhstan imported from Pakistan and Iran. Even Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan exported a relatively large volume to Kazakhstan – 1.3 and 0.8 thousand tons, respectively. Even Georgia that supplied 200 tons appeared among the large exporters of potatoes to Kazakhstan for the first time.

As can be seen in the above graph, the situation with potato prices in the Russian Federation did not improve even after the harvest. Moreover, the gap with 2019-2020 prices continues to increase. Accordingly, Kazakhstan will not be able to count on supplies of potatoes from Russia in the 2021/22 season either.

Part of the potato harvest from the northern regions of the country is exported to the Russian market, which may lead to a new growth in potato prices in winter. There are active shipments of potatoes from Kazakhstan to Russia reported.

It remains to hope that the southern regions of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries will increase the area planted with early potatoes, which would help contain the price rise in spring. In the meantime, potato prices in the region remain higher than last year and continue to grow rapidly.

Uzbekistan is expected to renew the record for potato imports again by the end of 2021. According to our estimates, Kazakhstan has also been importing a record volume of potatoes over the past six years. Accordingly, the exports of potatoes will also be close to the anti-record.

Сообщение In 2021 potato imports in Kazakhstan reached the highest level in recent years – EastFruit появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts note that record high prices for potatoes in Russia and fears of a shortage of potatoes in the 2021/22 season are forcing Russian traders to look for suppliers around the world. Normally local stocks are the highest at this time and Russia exports potatoes. Imports usually begin only in March or April, when local stocks are exhausted.

Since Russia has banned the supply of potatoes to its market from the EU, Ukraine, the United States and a number of other countries, the search for alternative suppliers of potatoes will not be an easy task in the “scarce years”. Egypt, the main potato supplier to Russia, will be able to export no earlier than February. Belarus itself is facing record high prices and is also importing potatoes, namely, from Ukraine.

The graph chart shows how high potato price in Russia is compared to its normal level. Russian potato growers can now sell them on average 3 times more expensive than usual at this time.

Such a high level of prices can rationalize potato imports from rather distant countries. Russian importers manage to buy potatoes at an affordable price in Kyrgyzstan and Moldova now. The volumes of these supplies can be large by the standards of the supplying countries, but they are small for the Russian Federation. According to traders, there are also more and more potatoes supplied to the Russian market from Iran. This is a case of large volumes. The possibilities of importing potatoes even from Pakistan are being researched now.

It is notable that Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan, are themselves deficient in potatoes. Only Kyrgyzstan grows enough to provide large export volumes. Farmers in the mountainous regions of the country focus on potato production. With a temperate mountain climate and sufficient precipitation, as well as high potato prices in the region, potato farming is a profitable and sustainable business for small and medium-sized farms in Kyrgyzstan.

A sharp increase in the supply of Kyrgyz potatoes to Russia this year could lead to a jump in their prices in Central Asia. For instance, Uzbekistan previously imported potatoes mainly from Russia, but the price level in Russia is so high this year that imports are out of the question. At the same time, Uzbekistan itself has already imported a record volume of potatoes in the first half of the year.

As for Russia, a further sharp rise in prices on the local potato market is very likely, unless market participants made a mistake in assessing the harvest. If it turns out that potato stocks are not as low as expected, prices may stabilize as they are indeed too high now. A decrease in prices is not expected.

Сообщение Russia increased potato imports from Iran, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, in 2021 Russia will be definitely setting a new record for watermelon imports. With several months still left till the end of the year, the record has already been set – as of the end of July 2021, imports of watermelon in Russia reached 46 thousand tons, while in 2020, in total, 38,3 thousand tons of watermelon were imported.

Thus, according to our estimates, by the end of 2021, imports of fresh watermelon to Russia may exceed 70 thousand tons for the first time, and the import volume will grow by about 80% compared to 2020’s record imports.

In certain circumstances, the imports of watermelons to the Russian Federation may even double. in 2021, watermelon prices across Europe were unusually low. Even if Russia could not directly import watermelons from Ukraine where farmers were ready to give them from the field for free, imports from Central Asia, where prices during the peak export in June-July, were also the lowest in recent years.

In particular, the average wholesale price for watermelons in Uzbekistan in June-July ranged from $0.06 to $0.08 per kg. Watermelons were sold only $0.01-0.02 per kg more expensive in Tajikistan. For the first time, Georgia was among the large suppliers of fresh watermelon to Russia, where prices for watermelon were slightly higher than in Central Asia – about $0.10-0.12 per kg. However, transport from Georgia to Russia was much cheaper, which gave Georgian suppliers an advantage.

In Russia, watermelon prices during peak season in 2021 were at the average level for recent years. By the end of the season, they began to decline sharply because of the growing supply. This was also influenced to a certain extent by the later start of the season, which led to a sharp increase in the supply of watermelons on the market in late August-early September 2021.

As you see, supplies of watermelons to Russia from Central Asia and Georgia in June-July were possible due to the high price in Russia and low prices in the exporting countries. That is why watermelon was the key item for Uzbek fruit and vegetable exports in June. In July, Uzbekistan increased the volume of watermelon exports to Russia almost fourfold to record 11.2 thousand tons.

As for Turkey, it used a different window of opportunity for watermelon exports to Russia, starting earlier than Uzbekistan. In May, Turkey already exported more than 1.3 thousand tons of watermelon to the Russian Federation and reached a peak export of 9.7 thousand tons in June, which was also a record for the supply of watermelons from Turkey to Russia. The supply of watermelons to Russia from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan and North Macedonia was also higher, while China, on the contrary, reduced exports.

Naturally, the exports of watermelon from Russia during the same period decreased, if you do not take into account the supply to the temporarly occupied territories of Ukraine. Exports decreased, primarily to the EU countries, such as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The unusual low prices in Ukraine has led to the almost complete ousting of Russian exporters by Ukrainian ones from the Belarusian market for the first time in the last 11 years. Nevertheless, Russia managed to double the exports of watermelon to Mongolia to more than 1,000 tons.

Сообщение Russia sharply increased imports of watermelon from Uzbekistan and Turkey, setting a new record появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts draw attention to an interesting trend in Poland. Despite Poland being one of the world leaders in the exports of fresh apples, at times displacing China from the first place in terms of exports, it has ever more clearly shifted its focus from the exports of apples to the exports of fresh pears in recent years.

“Over the past five years, Poland has been increasing its exports of pears at an average rate of 23% per year, or almost 13 thousand tons, and reduced the exports of apples by 4% or 34 thousand tons per year. At the same time, Poland increased its pear exports faster than any other country from the world’s top ten exporters of pears. Since bad weather had an equally negative effect on both apples and pears, this factor can be ignored. Thus, the shift in trends in favor of pears looks quite obvious.” explains Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Due to the rapid growth in pear exports, Poland became 9th in the world among the leading exporters of pears, surpassing Italy and Portugal, by the end of 2020. According to EastFruit forecasts, based on information from Polish sources, Poland could export more than 100 thousand tons of pears in the 2020/21 season for the first time. The export of pears from Poland was only 25 thousand tons five years ago!

In the structure of Poland’s fruit exports, pears are currently ranked fourth in terms of revenue, after apples, frozen berries and fresh blueberries. Experts foresee that the revenues from the export of Polish pears will only grow.

It is notable that out of the ten largest world exporters of pears, only three countries are reducing their export volumes, while all the rest are increasing them. Poland is increasing exports the fastest in relative terms, as Andriy Yarmak already noted. However, Turkey is also showing similar growth rates. It is still 12th in the world, but given its success in the apple market, there is no doubt that Turkey will actively increase export volumes of pears, as well. Now the export of Turkish fresh pears is growing by 9 thousand tons annually.

Read also: The Ukrainian fruit producer “Sady Dnipra” will establish 30 hectares of pear orchard in 2021

The USA (by 8 thousand tons per year), Italy (by 11 thousand tons per year) and Chile (by 5 thousand tons per year) are reducing the exports of fresh pears. China, the Netherlands, Argentina and Belgium remain the leaders in the global ranking, exporting about 1.5-1.6 million tons of fresh pears annually. These four countries account for about 58% of world exports.

Among the countries of our region, the growth of pear exports by Central Asian countries should be noted. However, it is assumed that mainly Chinese pears are exported to Russia from there, as China cannot supply its pears directly to the Russian market now. Azerbaijan also has large export volumes, but most likely these are re-exported pears from Iran.

Moldova and Ukraine, despite good conditions for growing and exporting pears, so far do not pay much attention to them. However, it is worth noting the emerging trend of establishing modern pear orchards by the famous Ukrainian company “Sady Dnipra”, known primarily for its premium apples under the UApple brand. Primarily, the company plans to sell pears on the domestic market, since Ukraine is a net importer of pears.

Сообщение Polish growers are switching from apples to pears появились сначала на EastFruit.

Potatoes, onions and carrots are the basis of many dishes in the traditional cuisine of the Central Asian countries, along with meat. The price levels for these products determine the cost of the vegetable component of the meals consumed in everyday life. Therefore, Sputnik Tajikistan included these vegetables in the list of the grocery basket for Central Asian countries, published the day before in the Telegram channel of the online edition.  Turkmenistan was not included in the list.

Since Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are among the EastFruit price monitoring countries for about 60 types of fruit and vegetable products, EastFruit experts have made adjustments for these countries and offer an overview of average retail prices for potatoes, onions and carrots in the capitals of Central Asian countries. Thus, prices for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are provided by EastFruit, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – by Sputnik Tajikistan.

The most expensive potatoes turned out to be in Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan). In other capitals of the region, potato prices differ by a few cents and range from 38 to 41 cents.

The highest price for carrots is in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), followed by the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

The lowest price for onions is in the capital of Tajikistan, and the most expensive onions are in the capitals of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In general, if we consider a grocery basket of these three products, it lowest price is in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

Сообщение The lowest and highest prices for potatoes, onions, and carrots in Central Asia появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit experts, the 2021 season is successful for producers and exporters of Uzbek onions and will end in the coming weeks. Why can it be considered successful and what indicates that it is approaching to an end?

As a rule, the season of shipments of onions from Uzbekistan to foreign markets ends in July and statistics confirm this. Over the past 8 years, the only exception was 2018, when the export season lasted through August. However, the current developments in the Russian onion market, the main sales market for Uzbek onions, indicate that the 2021 season will not be an exception.

The current export season of early onions from Uzbekistan has started quite successfully for producers and exporters. The first large batch of early winter onions in Uzbekistan appeared on wholesale markets at the end of the first decade of April 2021, while there was a shortage of high-quality onions from last year’s harvest in Russia. The situation in the segment of local onion worsened, and farmers were ready to sell their products for processing at a token price of 1 RUB/kg ($ 0.014), not to spend money on their disposal. Most of the key market players explained this by the low quality of last year’s onions and a rather large share of substandard products. This is due to the storage of wet onions in 2020, since there were prolonged rains during the harvesting period in most of the country. Russian supermarket chains have significantly reduced purchases of local onions due to their poor quality and were expecting high-quality onions of new harvest from Central Asian countries. Thus, the season of export to the Russian market has started quite successfully for the onion producers of the countries of the region.

The sales season for winter onions in Russia began almost 2 weeks later than in 2020. In the south of the country, the harvesting of winter onions started in early June. In turn, this extended the exporting period of onions from Central Asia to the Russian market by another two weeks. Despite the starting prices of local winter onions in the 2021 season being on average 13% lower than in 2020 due to imports from Central Asia, average wholesale prices in Uzbekistan and Russia differed in more than 20 cents per kg, giving an opportunity for Uzbek exporters to continue onion exports to Russia.

Both factors that ensured a rather successful season for early onions export from Uzbekistan to Russia are associated with weather conditions in Russia. Firstly, prolonged rains during the harvesting and laying of onions in 2020, and, secondly, a delay in the start of the harvesting of winter onions in 2021.

Naturally, the Russian onion market began to change in June. The supply of local winter onions began increasing, while prices began declining. By the end of June, the difference between the average wholesale prices in the markets of Russia and Uzbekistan decreased to 17 cents per kg, and as of 3 July 2021 – to 11 cents per kg. EastFruit experts drew attention to the geography of onion exports from Uzbekistan over the last week and note a large share of shipments to the regions of Russia closest to Uzbekistan and to the northern part of Russia, where prices for fruits and vegetables are higher than in the center of the country, as well as to Kazakhstan. Since in the logistics costs for onions every cent per kg is important for the cost at the final destination, the impact of the downward trend in prices in the Russian market on onion exports from Uzbekistan becomes clearer.

At the same time, key players on the Russian onion market note that the downward trend in prices in the early onion segment will continue. The reason is that the supply of early onions on the market continues to grow, and the demand leaves much to be desired. This means that in order to continue onion exports from Uzbekistan to Russia, wholesale prices in Uzbekistan must decrease for exports to make economic sense. Considering that the average wholesale prices for onions in Uzbekistan ranged from 8 to 10 cents in June 2021, there is not much room for a further decrease. Also, demand on the domestic market can support prices and not let them drop significantly.

Thus, this indicates the end of the export season of onions from Uzbekistan to Russia is to approach in the next few weeks.

However, weather conditions in Russia cannot always ensure a successful export season for Uzbek onion producers, since they are an unpredictable factor. Therefore, EastFruit experts consider it risky to increase the production of early onions in Uzbekistan and noted a number of problems on the way of Uzbek onions to export markets in the article “Should Uzbekistan continue expanding early onion production for exports? Pros and cons”.

According to EastFruit experts, at the end of June 2021, onions became the second most important item in the export of fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan. Onions were second in the ranking of requests for vehicles for shipping fruits and vegetables for export, accounting for about 15% of them.

Сообщение The export season of Uzbek onions ends in a few weeks появились сначала на EastFruit.

Asparagus is one of the most trending vegetables worldwide – according to EastFruit, its consumption is growing rapidly, and its producers are making good profits. In particular, in the countries of Eastern Europe, the demand for asparagus is growing faster than its production, so the prices for asparagus are about 2-3 times higher there than in the European Union, where asparagus has long been a traditional spring product.

Nevertheless, producers in Uzbekistan and Central Asian countries ignored these trends for some reason, as in the case of blueberries. Therefore, the production and consumption of asparagus is not developed here, and consumers do not know what asparagus is.

It turns out that Uzbek farmers are losing the opportunity to earn very good money on growing this crop, which can bring much more profit than all other vegetables – it is the only outdoor vegetable sold at $ 6-10 per kg. Therefore, we will try here to assess the possible benefits of growing asparagus in Uzbekistan, both for consumption and for exports – there are many of them!

To assess the prospects for asparagus consumption in Uzbekistan, EastFruit conducted a non-representative survey to determine how familiar consumers are with asparagus. Mainly people with higher education who have been abroad, including in European countries, were questioned. However, even among them, only 67% know what asparagus is and 47% have eaten asparagus at least once.

Notable fact is that most of them liked asparagus. The taste of asparagus was rated four or five out of five by 69% of EastFruit respondents. Only 25% of them did not like asparagus at all, and 6% of the surveyed Uzbekistan residents rated the taste of asparagus at a C grade. Therefore, undoubtedly, this product is promising for the domestic market, which is very receptive.

Many of those Uzbek consumers who liked asparagus already buy it in Uzbekistan, but frozen. For example, online delivery Lebazar offers frozen asparagus under the Russian brand Kruzhevo Vkusa at 90 thousand sums, which is equivalent to $ 8.5 per 400 grams or $ 21.3 per kg. Most likely, this frozen asparagus was imported from China to Russia, packed there and exported to Uzbekistan, as Russia imports bulk frozen asparagus from China.

For comparison, the current prices for frozen asparagus in Ukraine are around $ 10 per kg, while the average retail price for fresh asparagus in the high season is around $ 6-8 per kg. In the EU countries, where asparagus is actively consumed and has been growing for a long time and in large quantities, retail prices for asparagus in the high season fluctuate in the range of $ 4-6 per kg.

However, prices in Russia are higher than in Ukraine or the EU, because local consumption is increasing and asparagus production is underdeveloped. Accordingly, this is a good news for Uzbekistan, which will be able to add another product to its exports.

At the same time, in Uzbekistan, asparagus can be harvested much earlier than in other countries, which of course gives the possibility of a higher price.  Asparagus can even be harvested in March in southern regions, if grown in open field, and in February, if grown in covered culture. At this time, asparagus is imported to Russia mainly from Peru at rather high prices.

However, asparagus is very likely to become popular in the domestic market, as well. Moreover, it may be one of the first crops of the new harvest. Asparagus is also becoming trendy among those who are interested in a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy diet. As it is one of the most low-calorie foods high in healthy plant fiber, asparagus is very popular among those trying to keep fit.

It is notable that asparagus belongs to medicinal plants in many countries. It lowers blood pressure, slows down the heart rate, dilates peripheral vessels, and relieves fatigue. Asparagus promotes the elimination of harmful substances from the body; therefore, it is recommended for treating diseases of the kidneys, heart, rheumatism, gout and other, because asparagus is rich in vitamins, minerals and contains a lot of folic acid. Thus, it is considered healthy for strengthening the immune system and improving vision.

Therefore, asparagus was the food of the gods in ancient Egypt, and it is called the “king of vegetables” in France. The leader in its consumption is Germany, where they prefer white asparagus, while in most other countries, mainly green and rare purple varieties of asparagus are popular.

In addition to its health benefits, asparagus is very tasty. There are many recipes for cooking asparagus on the Internet, and the tops of young asparagus can even be eaten raw! Asparagus can also be grilled, baked in the oven, boiled, added to salads, etc. Asparagus is perfectly combined with other products: both with meat and fish, in main courses and as a side dish.

As the prices for asparagus in Uzbekistan are still high, and few people know about it, producers should not count on huge sales right away. However, they will not get asparagus right away, as well. It is a perennial crop, and it should be harvested only on the second or third year of the growing season. But it can bear fruit for several years, and based on the production technology, up to 10 tons of asparagus can be harvested per year. Asparagus is often grown by the same producers who also grow berries, in particular blueberries, as this allows to expand the season for hiring seasonal workers, and asparagus distribution channels, as well as cooling, processing and logistics, are similar to those of berries.

Another advantage of Uzbekistan over other asparagus producers is the availability of a relatively cheap labor. Asparagus requires a lot of manual labor, and workers in the EU are paid much more. In addition, there is a shortage of labor.

Asparagus has its own specifics, and you should know it before starting to produce asparagus. It needs cooling, especially when exporting to distant markets, as well as processing and packaging. Improperly packaged asparagus can either rot or wither before it reaches consumers.

Ukraine, where asparagus production began to develop earlier than in other countries is the largest producer of asparagus in the former USSR. However, even Ukraine has not yet exported it, although it is assumed that asparagus can become the number 1 export product of Ukraine.

The largest exporters of asparagus in the world are Peru, Mexico, USA, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. Among the former socialist countries, the production and export of asparagus is best developed in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. China and Thailand are the largest exporters of fresh asparagus in Asia.

The largest volumes of asparagus are imported by the United States, where its consumption remains high throughout the year. Therefore, it is the United States that imports 10 times more asparagus annually than the second largest importer, Germany. In addition to them, Canada, France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Belgium are also among the leaders in the global imports. In Asia, besides aforementioned Japan, the biggest fresh asparagus imports are in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea. The volume of asparagus exports is also growing in the Middle East, primarily in the UAE.

The preliminary conclusion of our experts is that Uzbekistan should now pay attention to the cultivation of asparagus, if the country plans to enter in the global fruit and vegetable markets. After all, the assortment of fruit and vegetables is one of the most important advantages of the exporters, not to mention the high prices for asparagus. Since Uzbekistan is far from key sales markets, has no access to seaports, and the logistics of exports will always be relatively expensive for it, it is important to pay attention to expensive products.

Сообщение Asparagus in Uzbekistan: assessing the profitability of production and exports появились сначала на EastFruit.

Onion market in Eastern Europe is in a serious turmoil – EastFruit has recently published several important materials on onion and problems producer face. At the same time, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries have already started harvesting early onions.

High interest in the topic makes it important to clarify what the general situation on the regional onion market is, what to expect in the coming weeks and in the new season, whether production falls, prices recover, how export niches change, and who can make profit on onions.

These issues will be covered in this voluminous material. We advise you to read it to the end to get a complete picture of the “onion perspectives”. Let’s start with the analysis “from west to east”.

The most western market included in the EastFruit wholesale price monitoring is Poland. To understand in more detail the current situation in Poland, we should look at the situation in the EU as a whole in the 2020/21 season.

Onion market of the European Union and Poland

According to the AMI agency, the total onion production in the EU decreased by 4% in 2020 compared to the previous year to 6.2 million tons, but this was due to a sharp drop in production in Spain. Spain is the largest producer and second largest exporter of onions in the EU after the Netherlands.

The production of onions in Spain fell immediately by 30% in 2020 compared to the previous year and was 20% lower than the average for the previous 3 years. In other countries, production has either been at an average level of the past few years or increased compared to 2019.

Thus, there was an abundant supply of onions on the EU market, while the demand remained the same or decreased in some segments. Firstly, due to new waves of COVID-19 Pandemic, the demand for onions from HoReCa enterprises and processors has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Secondly, consumers have realized that eating onions does not help prevent coronavirus infection, therefore, the surge in demand recorded in the spring of 2020 has not been repeated. Thirdly, the demand for onions has also decreased in the traditional export markets for EU producers, and the export of onions to countries outside the EU remains at the level of the previous year.

Since the domestic demand has significantly decreased in the EU, price levels depended, among other things, on the export capacity and quality. For instance, Poland exported the same volume of onions in the first half of the 2020/21 season as in the previous season (69 thousand tons), although production in Poland increased by 8% compared to the previous year. As a result, although the situation in Poland developed from the beginning of autumn as it did last year, prices were decreasing, and there was no jump in prices in the second half of April, unlike last year.

At the same time, onion exports from Netherlands in the first half of the season were at their highest level in the last five years (1 million tons). In addition, Dutch exporters managed to take over those markets where Spanish producers were previously present. Accordingly, prices were slightly higher in autumn and winter than last year.

For example, the average price for assorted yellow onion from a packing facility in the Netherlands was $ 0.31/kg in November 2021. But exports fell sharply since January and prices fell to last year’s level. Price for sorted yellow onion from a packing facility in the Netherlands is currently $0.23/kg. In fact, the price of onion in the Netherlands is now even lower than in Poland, as it also includes the costs for sorting. Similar trends are observed in Germany, and a significant increase in onion prices in the EU in the spring of 2021 was recorded only in Spain, where, production fell significantly.

Ukrainian onion market

Moving further to the east, we move in Ukraine, where several negative factors coincided on the onion market in the current season. Firstly, the production of winter onions increased significantly in spring 2020, and the sales season for winter onions extended, causing the delay of the sales of later varieties. Secondly, one of the highest yields of onions for storing was harvested in the fall. Thirdly, the lack of systematic approaches to the exports of onion has led to insufficient export, although it has potential to achieve record results this season , and in April, onion exporters from Ukraine even knocked down the rise in prices in neighboring Belarus.

As a result, the lowest price for onions in the region is in Ukraine. The main volumes of onions of acceptable quality are offered at $0.11-0.13/kg, and the maximum price for export-quality onions is $0.16/kg. Nevertheless, there are quite a few such producers on the market, since, according to the farmers, the quality of the stocks is now quite low. Moreover, the surface cultivated with onion is said to be reduced sharply in 2021. Ukrainian onions of below-average quality can be purchased even at $0.07-0.09/kg, but the demand is very low.

Russian onion market

Onion producers in Russia are also unhappy with the situation in spring 2021. Market players here also discuss a possibility of reducing the surface cultivated with onion in the new season. Supermarket chains and large wholesale companies prefer to buy either last year’s imported onions from Central Asian countries, or not to rush into purchases the new harvest from this region. In addition, the imported onion harvest in 2021 from Egypt is present on the market despite the higher price.

At the moment, buyers are ready to pay up to $0.16/kg for high-quality local onions. Russian second-class onions are offered from $0.09/kg, and processors buy onions starting from $0.05/kg.

Meanwhile, there are shipments of last year’s products from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries in significant volumes in Russia, and their price reaches $0.23/kg at its maximum. There are onions of a new harvest from Egypt, but due to the relatively high prices they are mostly supplied to supermarket chains. Egyptian onions are offered from $0.45/kg in the southern regions, and in Moscow, can be sold at $0.52-0.57/kg.

It is also obvious that Russian retailers are now interested in new harvest onions from Central Asian countries, where harvesting has already begun. This will be discussed below.

Onion Market of Moldova

Dissatisfaction with the situation on the onion market is now not limited to Ukraine and Russia, but is felt in other markets as well. For instance, there are farmers in Moldova that are ready to give onions for free , in order to not spend money on disposal. Most of the producers are also certain that the area cultivated with onion will decrease in the new season, and according to local seed suppliers, it may decrease by 40% this year.

At the moment, prices for onion in Moldova vary within the range of $0.15-0.17/kg and are already 2.6 times lower on average compared to the same period last year! The main reasons for the lack of price growth are the active imports, which begins immediately after local farmers attempt to raise prices, and the absence of exports.

In Romania, which previously bought onions from Moldova, Moldovan exporters are losing to exporters from the Netherlands and Poland, and exporters from Ukraine do not let Moldovan producers raise prices in the local market.

Onion market in Belarus

Another country where Ukraine knocked down the rise in onion prices this spring is Belarus. Although the average price for onions in Belarus rose from $0.27/kg to $0.37/kg in March, imports from Ukraine immediately stabilized the prices, and it even dipped slightly to $0.35/kg.

Onion market of Georgia

The next country where onion prices are currently significantly lower than last year is Georgia. At the same time, for the second season in a row, onion imports to Georgia have been kept at the highest level for the last five seasons. Thus, Georgia imported almost the same volume of onions in July 2020 – February 2021 as in the previous season (21 thousand tons).

In fact, the pricing on the market for onions in Georgia is again based on imports, and prices are lower than in April last year, due to their decline in the markets of neighboring countries and the generally weak demand in the market due to the pandemic. In addition, onion cultivation in Georgia were seriously affected by heavy rainfall and hail in September 2020, so onions of initially unsatisfactory quality were often stored.

Onion market of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Meanwhile, in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, prices for last year’s harvest are also lower than a year earlier, although importers from Russia continue to purchase significant volumes of onions produced in 2020.

In Uzbekistan, this price decline is due to the devaluation of the local currency, as prices in Uzbek currency have remained on last year values in the past few weeks.

Onion production in Tajikistan increased in 2020, and the country approached the second half of the season with rather high stocks, which continues to put pressure on prices. In addition, market players are preparing for an active start of the early production season and are stepping up sales of last year’s stocks. The minimum price for onions of the 2020 harvest in Tajikistan fell to $0.05/kg in the middle of this week.

Early onion market in Central Asia

The first batches of early onions arrived in the countries of Central Asia at the beginning of April. So far, the onions are not matured enough, but Uzbek and Tajik exporters of fruit and vegetables are ready to ship 15-20 tons of early onions and guarantee their high quality. According to the information from the producing regions, the size of the onion bulbs meets the required minimum standards. Nevertheless, buyers are not enthusiastic to import products for the time being, fearing that the onions are not dry enough to withstand long-term transportation. The second limiting factor is the relatively higher price, because last year’s onions of acceptable quality can be bought 2-3 times cheaper in these countries.

Winter onions are now sold at an average of $0.29/kg in the wholesale markets of the capital of Uzbekistan, and the prices at producer’s level start at $0.21-0.22/kg in the southern region of the country. So far, most of the winter onions here are still unsuitable for export, and the intensification of supplies from the southern regions of Uzbekistan to foreign markets is expected in the third decade of April – early May, and from the central zone it is expected 2-3 weeks later.

In Tajikistan, winter onions arrived on the market a little earlier – at the beginning of April and it was offered on the markets and supermarkets at a retail price of about $1.00/kg. As of mid-April, farmers sell at $0.30/kg, while in wholesale markets the price is $0.40-0.45/kg. Currently, the demand for early onions is quite high, but the supply on the market is still insufficient. Considerable quantities of early onions from the southern regions of Tajikistan will begin in early May, and from other regions – 2-3 weeks later.

It should be noted that wholesale companies from Russia, the main market for onion exporters from Central Asia, are ready to supply onion of the new harvest at $0.44-0.52/kg in the hope of a quick decline in prices in the coming weeks. Market players in Tajikistan also report an active demand for the future harvest from importers from Afghanistan, who are already contracting onions for delivery in 10-15 days at an average price of $0.14/kg.

It should be considered that the price of early onions began to fall immediately, last year it happened short after the first large batches of products appeared on the Central Asian market. Prices in both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan fell threefold by the end of May 2020 compared to the beginning of April. Market players attributed the fall in prices in the spring and summer of last year to Covid 19 restrictions that impeded the normal export of early onions to Russia, although Tajikistan had a certain alternative in export supplies to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many farmers suffered significant losses and were forced to sell their products on the domestic market, which sharply increased the volume of supply. Part of the harvest was given to the population for free.

However, the situation may develop in a slightly different way this year. According to interviewed farmers in the Tashkent region, after last year’s price collapse, winter onion producers have reduced their surfaces cultivated with onion in Uzbekistan, some of them up to 50%. In addition, the onset of early cold weather in November-December last year had a negative impact on the winter onion crop, which led to a reduction in the 2021 harvest. In the southernmost region of the country (Surkhandarya), farmers did not experienced reduction in the cultivated area, but they also noted the negative impact of early winter on the winter onion yield, which led to a decrease in the harvest volume and an increase in the quantities of small-sized onions.

On the other hand, winter onion producers in Tajikistan increased the cultivated area last fall due to active exports to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Spring frost in 2021 certainly affected the harvest, but it is still too early to quantify the impact of the weather factor.

Summary and prospects of the onion market in 2021: 

1. Many of the countries of the EastFruit region can enter the new season with high stocks of the 2020 harvest (as in Ukraine, for instance) and their constantly deteriorating quality (as in Russia).
2. However, the start of the early production season in Eastern Europe will be delayed by at least two weeks, which could help farmers to sell off their last year’s stock.
3. On the other hand, exporters of early onion from the countries of Central Asia can also take this opportunity, especially since a large supply of their early export quality onions will be available in the near future. However, early onion will not be cheap, which means that there are still hopes for an increase in onion prices in May-June among those farmers in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus who have stocks of high-quality products in modern storage facilities.
4. At the same time, it will be difficult for producers of early onions in Russia and Ukraine to get a high price, and Ukraine may completely lose the market of Belarus if the latter switches to Central Asia.

A decrease in onion cultivated area can be expected in most Eastern European countries in 2021. However, farmers often change their plans during the season, and the clearer picture will be seen only by the end of summer. If their plans do not change, onion prices in Europe may begin to recover as early as July.

Сообщение Onion market analysis of the EU, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe появились сначала на EastFruit.

Potential markets for fruit and vegetables in Central Asia are the Baltic countries, as well as Ukraine and Belarus. The dynamics of recent years shows that the growth of imports from Central Asia to Ukraine is in double digits. Greenhouse vegtable such as tomato and cucumber are important for Ukraine and peppers are a hot niche in a long-term perspective.

These ideas were expressed by Fedir Rybalko, an expert of the agricultural market, during a virtual training on the effective organization of promotion and packaging of fruit and vegetables for export. The event was organized by the USAID Central Asia Competitiveness, Trade and Jobs Activity Project (CTJ).

“When trading with Ukraine and Belarus, Central Asia has a competitive advantage – no customs duties. Besides, Ukrainian consumers are loyal to products from these countries. As income rises, consumption of pepper rises. Tomato and cucumber remain an important market segment. Consumers often go to the retail stores where a wide range of tomatoes is available,” Fedir Rybalko said.

The expert explained the main factors affecting the quality of tomatoes:

• Temperature. A certain temperature should be maintained till tomatoes arrive in the retail network or in the markets.

“The temperature during the two-week storage is important. If it is below 10°C, damage to tomatoes may occur. They are normally stored at a temperature of 10 and 15°C. Storing tomatoes at 20°C and above leads to a deterioration in their quality,” the expert explains.

• Postharvest ripening. This is very important for tomatoes, especially when it comes to long-distance transportation.
• Mechanical damage. Producers, exporters, packers must comply with the technology of preparing goods for export, avoiding mechanical damage. Mechanical damage will lead to defects, and to losses respectively.
• Diseases. Diseases can occur not only during the production process, but also when technological operation protocols and disinfection procedures are violated. The most common tomato diseases are anthracnose, late blight and fusarium.

At the same time, the expert emphasized that there are certain niches (tomato segments) that are growing due to the trend and consumer preferences: smaller size of tomatoes and packaging, cocktail culture of consumption (tomatoes are used as a snack).

“The Dutch came up with the idea of ​​wrapping tomatoes in a glass with a semicircular lid about 15 years ago. In fact, it is an element of the snack culture. Convenient packaging reduces the time of consumption, which attracts buyers and stimulates demand,” the expert noted. 

According to the expert, cucumber is to a large extent a crop for the domestic market, but Spain, Turkey, Iran are quite big exporters of cucumbers. The storing capacity of cucumber is low due to the saturation of the tissues with water.

“The optimum temperature for cucumbers is 10-12.5°C. The required humidity is 95%. Fusarium is the most common disease for this culture,” Fedir Rybalko said.

The expert also added that pepper is a fast-growing crop, but rather difficult to grow: “It takes several years to get the necessary experience in the production of this crop. The optimum temperature for storing peppers is 7.5°C. Acceptable humidity is > 95%. The most common diseases are altenaria and gray rot. Sorting lines must be provided  with additional soft materials, which, when sorting peppers, reduce the mechanical damage: cuts, pressure.”

The main requirements of export markets:

– Certified by Global GAP, SMETA, GRASP.

– Certified Euro pallets.

– Logger (temperature control sensor in transit).

– Plastic packaging with modified atmosphere.

“Plastic bags are important for cucumbers and peppers. All products in the box should be tied in a plastic bag. It creates a microenvironment that releases carbon dioxide and maintains moisture. This solves the problem of eventual temperature variation” Fedir Rybalko concluded.

Сообщение Greenhouse vegetables from Central Asia – which ones and where to export? появились сначала на EastFruit.