The season of strawberries in Ukraine began a few weeks ago, but strawberry growers are already forced to reduce prices, EastFruit project analysts report. So far, only some farms in the southern regions of the country have started harvesting in heated greenhouses.

At the same time, if the prices for the first batches of strawberries were at an average of 200 UAH/kg ($6.84/kg), today the growers were forced to reduce prices to 150-180 UAH/kg ($5.13-6 ,15/kg), which is on average 25% cheaper than a week earlier.

Producers believe that the downward price trend will only intensify in the near future, since relatively cheap strawberries grown in Greece and Spain are offered in sufficient volumes on the market at 120-150 UAH/kg ($4.10-5.13/kg). A rather low demand also has a negative impact on prices in this segment. At the same time, most producers of strawberries have problems with the sales due to hostilities in some regions of the country. Some consumers were also forced to leave the country.

We add that the main offer on the Ukrainian market today is greenhouse strawberries. According to growers’ forecasts, open field strawberries will go on sale in the end of May.

Сообщение Strawberries are getting cheaper in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

Most Ukrainian producers have announced the completion of sales of cabbage of the 2021 harvest, EastFruit project analysts say. Today the supply of last year’s cabbage on the market has significantly decreased, while the demand is quite high. Thus, farmers, who still have cabbage from the 2021 crop in their stocks, began to raise prices.

According to the project’s daily monitoring data, prices for last year’s cabbage in Ukrainian farms rose by an average of 19% over the week. Today, farmers sell it at 14-18 UAH/kg ($0.48-0.62/kg).

First of all, a significant reduction in the supply of cabbage on the market caused by the depletion of stocks in the farms allows producers to raise prices. At the same time, the demand has grown much this week, which also keeps prices up.

It should be noted that current prices for cabbage harvested in 2021 in Ukraine are already on average 2.8 times higher than last year.

Сообщение Prices for last year’s cabbage went up in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

In Ukraine, prices for last year’s white cabbage began to decline, EastFruit project analysts report. According to experts, the reason for the reduction was the decrease in trade and purchasing on the part of wholesale companies and retail chains. Also, pressure on prices for last year’s cabbage is exerted by a decrease in prices for early cabbage. At the same time, according to the project, the quality of cabbage on the Ukrainian market is in most cases low due to long-term storage.

In particular, on Friday 22 April Ukrainian producers offeedr last year’s white cabbage at 11-16 UAH/kg ($0.38-0.55/kg), which is 24% cheaper on average than in the previous week. According to project experts, the reason is a decrease in demand for last year’s cabbage from Ukrainian farms, caused by increased supply from Poland. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the price of last year’s imported cabbage on the Ukrainian market actually corresponds to the prices for cabbage from local farms.

Prices for last year’s cabbage in Ukraine are still at a fairly high level. For comparison: in the second half of April 2021, producers sold them on average 1.7 times cheaper than now.

Сообщение Last year’s white cabbage becomes cheaper in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

Prices for early cabbage in Ukraine have dropped sharply this week, EastFruit project analysts report. The reason for the negative price trends in the segment of new crop cabbage was the seasonal increase in its supply on the market, as well as rather low demand.

Thus, the first batches of cabbage harvested in 2022 became available on the market 2 weeks ago, and then the prices were in the range of 35-40 UAH/kg ($1.20-1.37/kg). Today, Ukrainian growers sell early cabbage in the range of 20-27 UAH/kg ($0.68-0.92/kg), which is on average 37% cheaper than the first batches.

It should be noted that the current price of early cabbage in Ukraine is already on average 10% lower than in the same period last year. At the same time, many key players expect further price reductions in the new crop cabbage segment. They argue their opinion by the fact that the majority of Ukrainian growers are currently experiencing difficulties with selling their products due to the disruption in the supply chains in most of the country.

Сообщение In Ukraine, the prices of early cabbage have collapsed появились сначала на EastFruit.

Prices for greenhouse cucumbers continue to grow rapidly in Ukraine, according to EastFruit project analysts. Price growth in the segment accelerated several times compared with the last week. In conditions of high demand in the market, there was a shortage of supply of greenhouse cucumbers already in the first half of the week. Deliveries of imported cucumbers decreased significantly due to logistical problems, and importers refuse to supply them to the Ukrainian market due to high financial risks, despite the steady growth in cucumber prices on the domestic market.

Read also: Prices for imported tomatoes are rapidly increasing in Ukraine

Thus, greenhouse cucumbers have grown in price by an average of 17% since the beginning of the week, and today they are sold at 65-100 UAH/kg ($2.22-3.42/kg). According to representatives of greenhouse farms, in addition to increased demand in this segment, the reduction in the supply of greenhouse cucumbers from Ukrainian plants stimulates their price growth. This is due to the fact that ripening of cucumbers in greenhouses slowed down significantly because of the cold snap, leading to a decrease in stocks in farms.

Notably, greenhouse cucumbers in Ukraine are currently 60^% more expensive than at the beginning of April last year. Meanwhile, most of the key market players agree that a new price increase in the segment may be a temporary phenomenon. Greenhouse cucumber deliveries from the main production regions began to improve this week. As soon as warm weather settles in, the selection of cucumbers in local greenhouse plants will begin to increase, causing a decrease in selling prices in the segment.

Сообщение Prices for greenhouse cucumbers in Ukraine grow for the second week in a row появились сначала на EastFruit.

The upward price trend for beetroots continues in the Ukrainian market, analysts of the EastFruit project report. Key market players consider the reduction in the supply to be the main reason for the new increase in prices. It should be noted that today many growers have actually completed the beetroot sales, and many have suspended sales until April. Also, imports of beetroots produced in Poland have significantly decreased this week, supporting prices for local ones.

Today, Ukrainian farms ship beetroot at 10-15 UAH/kg ($0.35-0.53/kg), which is on average 13% more expensive than a week earlier. Several factors allow farmers to raise prices. First of all, the increased demand contributes to the rise in prices: both wholesale companies and retail chains are actively purchasing beetroot. On the contrary, the supply on the market has somewhat decreased, since farms refrain from sales in anticipation of further price increases.

Noteworthy, current prices for beetroot in Ukraine are on average 2.5 times higher than in the same period last year. However, market participants do not rule out that the upward price trend may be a temporary phenomenon. In their opinion, a further rise in prices may encourage growers to start selling the stored product. This will lead to an increase in supplies and, as a result, to a decrease in  prices in the segment.

Сообщение Beetroot prices are increasing again in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.

The minimum wholesale prices for inshell walnuts (from 25 to 23 MDL/kg, $1.29/kg) and walnut kernels (from 100 to 90 MDL/kg) have decreased last week in Moldova. Traders claim that prices for walnuts purchased in small bulk from small farms, as well as from individuals have decreased – that is, mainly for walnuts harvested in forests and alleys along the roads. The quality of these walnuts is average and below average.

As many participants in the walnut market note, the determining factor in the minimum price reduction is not the walnut quality, but a noticeable decrease in demand from European wholesale buyers. According to exporting traders, the decreasing interest in new contracts for the purchase of Moldovan walnuts of the 2021 harvest started two weeks ago since European buyers had an alternative – American walnuts of stable quality at a price only slightly higher. As a result, Moldovan suppliers have almost no new contracts and they are fulfilling the previously concluded ones.

Read also: Moldova: new requirements for the quality of fruit and vegetable sales came into force

Probably, due to small deliveries under last year’s long-term contracts, the average level of wholesale prices (in national currency) for walnut kernels in February 2022 is still 8-10 MDL/kg higher than in February 2021. However, due to high inflation, there is virtually no price advantage in dollar terms.

A noticeable decrease in demand for walnuts in February in the domestic market aggravates the unpleasant market situation.

Сообщение The price of walnuts in Moldova decreases due to weakening demand in the European Union появились сначала на EastFruit.

The average wholesale banana prices in Uzbekistan have decreased by 18% over the past two weeks and the current levels are the lowest if compared to the same dates in 2021 and 2020, EastFruit analysts say.

According to EastFruit price monitoring, the average wholesale prices for bananas decreased from 17 000 to 14 000 UZS/kg (from $1.6 to 1.3) from January 7 to January 21, 2022, i.e. by 18%. Moreover, the current levels of wholesale prices are much lower compared to those on the same date in previous years. As of January 21, 2022, the average wholesale banana prices in Uzbekistan are 22% lower than on the same date in 2021 and 13% lower than in 2020.

The main factor in such dynamics of banana prices in Uzbekistan is the elimination of customs duties on their imports. We remind you that in October 2021, the government of the country decided to stimulate the imports of a number of fruits, exempting them from import duties. Banana was also included in the list. As a result, the reduction in import duties allowed the country’s consumers to buy this product not grown in Uzbekistan at a much lower price.

The government decision served as an additional incentive for the growth of banana consumption in Uzbekistan in the last months of 2021 and early 2022, since import statistics showed a solid increase in banana imports to Uzbekistan even before October 2021. In January-October 2021, Uzbekistan imported 58.6 thousand tonnes of bananas, which is 60% more than in total in 2020 and exceeded imports in 2019 by 37%. EastFruit analysts identified three reasons for such a solid increase in banana consumption in Uzbekistan in 2021.

The sharp increase in banana consumption in Uzbekistan was also noted by EastFruit experts as one of the TOP-10 main fruit and vegetable events of 2021.

According to preliminary estimates by EastFruit analysts, the upward trend in banana consumption in Uzbekistan continued in the first half of January this year. From January 1 to January 17, 2022, the volume of banana imports amounted to 7.3 thousand tonnes, which is 18% more than for in total in January 2021 and almost 2 times more than in January 2020.

Сообщение Banana prices in Uzbekistan have fallen by 18% over the past two weeks появились сначала на EastFruit.

Given the rapid decline in stocks of white cabbage in Russian farms, farmers began to hold back the sale of quality cabbage, which led to another price increase this week, EastFruit project analysts report. This is confirmed by wholesale companies noting a reduction in the supply of cabbage on the market. A large role was also played by the decrease in the supply of cabbage from Dagestan, where due to the hot summer much less quality cabbage was harvested this year.

Today, prices for white cabbage are announced in the range of 42-55 RUB/kg ($0.55-0.72/kg), which is on average 10% higher than at the end of the last work week. At the same time, the demand remains at a fairly high level. It should be noted that prices for white cabbage have been increasing in the Russian market for the past two months as a result of a reduction in stocks of quality cabbage in farms.

Read also: Onion prices are increasing in Russia

The current price of cabbage in Russia is already much higher than last year. Today, Russian producers sell cabbage on average 4.4 times more expensive than in mid-January 2021. According to market participants, price growth trends in the cabbage segment will continue, as demand currently exceeds market supply.

Сообщение Russia: prices for white cabbage keep rising due to high demand появились сначала на EastFruit.

After a month of stability, price decline for wholesale walnut kernels resumed in Moldova. The prices dropped by an average of 10 MDL/kg ($0.55/kg) to 110 MDL/kg ($6.11/kg) last week. The average price is still higher than at the start of the season in October (100 MDL/kg, $5.65/kg), or in January last year (90 MDL/kg, $5.11/kg). It is worth considering that, firstly, the current reduction is influenced by a dynamic depreciation of the Moldovan leu against the dollar and the euro, which is unlikely to slow down or stop in the near future. Secondly, some operators of the local market do not rule out that the decline of walnut prices in MDL will continue in Moldova in January.

According to Moldovan traders, prices for walnut kernels fell due to almost zero demand from Turkish buyers (in the context of the lira devaluation), as well as buyers from some South European non-EU countries. Incidentally, prices for almonds, which are mainly exported to the Turkish market, are also decreasing in Moldova. In previous years, sales of low-quality walnut kernels to Turkey and the Balkans were important for Moldovan exporters at the end of the marketing season.

In addition, the “post-holiday” demand for Moldovan walnuts in the European Union in January 2022 has not yet revived either. There are chances for this – Moldovan traders claim that their European partners are dissatisfied with the “price/quality” ratio of American walnuts, which are currently entering the EU market.

For some growers that have small stocks of high-quality walnuts, the domestic market of Moldova has now become the main market for selling walnut kernels. Their retail (and small wholesale) price if delivered to the client, is almost twice higher than the price offered to farmers by exporters.

Сообщение Prices for walnuts in Moldova are declining due to low demand in the EU and Turkey появились сначала на EastFruit.