Experts of the EastFruit project report that Ukrainian onion growers are forced to reduce the prices. According to them, the reason for this price trend was the increase in the supply of onions on the market, caused by increased onion imports from Poland and the Netherlands.

As a result, today onions from local farms are offered at 10-14 UAH/kg ($0.34-0.48/kg), which is on average 14% cheaper than at the end of the last work week. At the same time, most market operators note that almost 80% of onions on the domestic market of the country are imported. The reason is that the main stocks of onions are currently concentrated in the southern regions of the country, which, due to constant hostilities, cannot ship to other regions.

Meanwhile, according to the growers themselves, the quality of onions in storage continues to deteriorate rapidly, which, in turn, may lead to a further decrease in selling prices in the segment.

Despite the reduction in the price of onions, today they cost on average 2.9 times more than in the same period last year in Ukraine. Key market players explain such a price difference by a break in supply chains in most of the country, which greatly complicates the supply of both local and imported onions.

Сообщение Onion prices in Ukraine are falling due to imports появились сначала на EastFruit.

The unacceptable quality of Moldova table grapes variety in stores is one of the most unfortunate conclusions of the March audit of the produce departments of Chisinau supermarket chains, conducted by the EastFruit international project team. The objectivity of the assessment is undoubtful, as along with the project staff, many Moldovan consumers who tried to find table grapes “Moldova” of acceptable quality in the capital’s retail were convinced of this. However, experts from the growers organizations believe that although problems with the quality of “Moldova” sometimes arise at the beginning and at the very end of the marketing season, in the last few years they have been random, not systemic.

Read also: Table grapes of “Moldova” variety become niche grapes on the Moldovan market in the spring

According to Gheorghe Gaber, chairman of the Association of Table Grape Producers and Exporters of the Republic of Moldova, 2021 was marked by rather unusual weather conditions, or even anomalous compared to previous years. Most of the spring of 2021 was cool and very rainy, while autumn was predominantly dry, with occasional dense fogs and frosts. Berries of “Moldova” grapes slowly gained sugar content. Protective measures and harvesting were carried out in bad conditions in some areas. A large part of the “Moldova” harvest was not suitable for long-term storage. By the way, in accordance with the recommendations of experts, it was sold shortly after harvesting. At the same time, some specialized vineyards, especially in the southern region of the country and those growing grapes on plantations such as Pergola, harvested and stored “Moldova” of very good quality. Even in spring, these grapes in refrigerators looked no worse than last fall.

The specialist believes that the problematic quality of Moldova grapes in Chisinau supermarket chains in March this year is not so much a flaw in production and storage technologies, but a lack of commercial culture. Taking into account product leftovers in fruit storages and the understandable difficulties with their sale to the CIS countries, local chain retailers bought Moldova grapes at the lowest prices and did not closely monitor quality when buying. Meanwhile, there are quite a few producers in the country that can offer supermarkets high-quality grapes in consumer packaging, even in flow-packs.

As a rule, worse “Moldova” table grapes in March was placed not in refrigerators, next to expensive imported grapes, but on ordinary shelves – in boxes, next to apples and vegetables. Obviously, the “selling cycle” in such conditions was short, and the employees of supermarkets did not always have time (or did not try very well) to sort out unpresentable bunches with spoiled berries.

Сообщение The low quality of Moldova variety of table grapes in spring 2022 in Chisinau supermarkets is the exception rather than the rule появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to the EastFruit monitoring, wholesale prices for Moldova table grapes on the market increased up to 14-15 MDL/kg ($0.76-0.81 /kg) in the first half of March, by an average of 1-2 MDL/kg compared to the February level. This is about 15-17% higher than in the same period last year, but 12-13% lower than the March price in 2020.

Fruit market participants note that the leftover stock of Moldova grapes from the 2021 harvest (about 7 000 tonnes, according to expert estimates) was surprisingly well preserved in the refrigerators of viticulture and trading enterprises by February. Some fairly large batches of grapes looked no worse than last autumn and were in good demand on the European market. Due to intensive exports, no more than 1 000-2 000 tonnes of grapes remained in fruit storages for trade in March.

At the same time, even the best “Moldova” is unlikely to be exported in large volumes. Berries retain a dense structure, but the branches of grape clusters have already darkened and dried up, which affects the attractiveness of the product for European consumers. At the same time, the spring “Moldova” has its own buyer in the domestic market. Grapes of this variety are moved from supermarkets, where they are replaced by fresher imported grapes, to markets, boutique-type shopping centers and are sold there at a relatively high “niche price” – up to 20-30 MDL/kg ($ 1.09 -1.63/kg).

Сообщение Table grapes of “Moldova” variety become niche grapes on the Moldovan market in the spring появились сначала на EastFruit.

After a rather long period of stagnation in Russia, the demand for onions has intensified, allowing local growers to raise prices, EastFruit project analysts report. The main reason for the increase in the cost of onions was the rapid reduction in stocks of high-quality onions. According to the producers, to date, the quality of onions in storage continues to deteriorate rapidly, as most farmers deliberately stored products that were initially unsuitable for long-term storage.

According to the project’s daily monitoring data, local producers offer high-quality onions at 13-22 RUB/kg ($0.17-0.29/kg) now, which is 10% more expensive on average than a week earlier. According to representatives of wholesale companies, today it is quite difficult to find the required volumes of high-quality onions. The main offer on the market is low-quality onions with a limited period of sales. Those producers who still have the necessary volumes of high-quality onions currently sell them either in small batches or under agreements concluded earlier.

It should be noted that the current price of onions in Russia is on average 22% higher than in the same period last year. Market participants do not rule out that the upward trend in prices in this segment will continue, and the growth rate of onion prices will accelerate as the stocks in farms decrease.

Сообщение After a long stagnation, onion prices are increasing again in Russia появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, Ukraine exported for the first time a commercial batch of carrots to the Saudi Arabian market in 2021. Twenty-four tonnes of carrots were sent from Ukraine to Saudi Arabia in sea containers in September 2021. By the way, we wrote about the prospects for exporting carrots to Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Middle East three years ago.

“The main problem of the Ukrainian vegetable sector is the lack of orientation on the needs of export markets. Since local supermarkets and wholesalers continue to sell vegetables of extremely low quality, it is easier and more convenient for vegetable growers in Ukraine – they do not have to invest in more efficient growing technologies, in expensive modern equipment for handling, cooling, sorting and packaging vegetables. However, the result is periodic price collapses, when the supply is even slightly higher than the needs of the domestic market, and income per hectare is relatively low. Therefore, even trial deliveries of commercial batches of fresh vegetables to distant markets are an important experience and an important signal to market participants that this is possible,” Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said.

In total, Ukraine increased exports of carrots by almost 3 times to 11 600 tonnes in 2021. Of course, this is a meager volume compared to what Ukraine could export if it produced export-grade carrots and promoted their exports.

“The countries of the Middle East annually import over 300 000 tonnes of fresh carrots. The UAE imports about 100 000 tonnes, and Saudi Arabia – from 50 000 to 60 000 tonnes. Kuwait and Qatar import 20 000 tonnes of carrots a year. This is a huge market that could provide Ukrainian vegetable growing with a good level of stability. At the same time, it would allow to reduce logistics costs due to the growth in supply volumes and provide further access to the supply of vegetables and potatoes to the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, as was the case with apple exports from Ukraine,” — adds Andriy Yarmak.

In the meantime, the main market for Ukrainian carrots in 2021 was Belarus, which accounted for about 68% of all carrot exports. Ukrainian suppliers also managed to double the export of carrots to Romania, where more than 2 500 tonnes were sent over the year. Moldova and Kazakhstan were the second and third among the largest buyers of Ukrainian carrots with smaller but significant volumes.

Сообщение Ukraine exported carrots to Saudi Arabia for the first time появились сначала на EastFruit.

The government’s decision on new quality requirements for the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables was published in the Official Gazette on Friday, February 11. The new rules are set in accordance with the standards adopted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (CEE-ONU), MOLDPRES informs.

The document applies to a number of imported or domestic goods (potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, marrows, melons, apricots, plums, cherries and sour cherries).

Read also: Moldovan government plans to sign an agreement on preferential fruit exports with Egypt

The purpose of the document is to provide the domestic market with local or imported fruits and vegetables that meet quality requirements and sanitary standards.

According to the project, product quality must be confirmed by a certificate of conformity issued by the National Food Safety Agency. Until now, only enterprises exporting fresh fruits and vegetables have requested such a document. Compliance with sanitary standards will be confirmed by tests in an accredited laboratory. Tthe obligation to have a safety certificate was canceled, and the document became optional.

Сообщение Moldova: new requirements for the quality of fruit and vegetable sales came into force появились сначала на EastFruit.

Potato prices rose in Moldova last week: both the minimum and maximum wholesale prices increased – 4.5-6 MDL/kg ($0.25-0.33/kg). Moreover, the increase in the maximum price was more substantial – prices for relatively high-quality potatoes increased by 1 MDL/kg or more. Compared to the beginning of February last year, prices for potatoes in MDL increased by about 12-15%. However, the February rise in the potato price on the Moldovan market in dollar and in euro terms does not exceed 1-2%.

According to representatives of the Association of Potato Growers of Moldova, the February rise in the price of potatoes is most likely to have a long-term nature, and its reasons differ from the reasons for the periodic price rise in January-December. At the beginning of 2022, prices for low-quality local potatoes mainly increased, depending on their greater or lesser supply in the city’s wholesale markets on certain days. By the beginning of February, the stocks of such potatoes were depleted (largely due to drying out and a large rejection – farms put a lot of low-quality potatoes in hasty storages last year). But now, even in the face of gradually increasing demand, many retailers are no longer ready to pay more for low-quality goods.

It is worth mentioning that bread has once again risen in price in Moldova. One of the largest players of the country’s grain market increased bread prices by 30% at once. Retail prices for almost all bakery positions in most stores have already equaled or exceeded the retail price of a kilogram of low and average-quality bulk potatoes. Thus, we can assume that the rise in price for potatoes in the foreseeable future is almost guaranteed.

The Association of Potato Growers believes that the average price level will push up the prices for imported potatoes of relatively high quality in February. First of all, the costs of transport logistics of products imported from Romania, Poland, and Belarus will increase. Now there is not much imports on the Moldovan market, most of them coming from Ukraine. However, wholesale traders say it is usually difficult for them to negotiate with Ukrainian suppliers on the purchase of potatoes in small lots at a more or less acceptable price in February-March.

Сообщение Potato prices in Moldova are rising due to higher bread prices and increased logistics costs появились сначала на EastFruit.

Georgia exported 835 tonnes of aromatic herbs in November-December 2021, which is 22% higher than in the same period of 2020. Despite the statistics, Georgian growers and exporters don’t feel like it’s a better season, and complain about prices, demand and quality.

Source: trademap.org

The main export market for Georgian aromatic herbs is Russia where their success depends on the situation in competitor countries like Uzbekistan and Iran, as they became traditional suppliers to the Russian market. Georgian herbs lost their positions in price and quality competition with them. However, last season Georgian producers were getting better prices because of the bad weather and logistics issues in competitor countries.

According to EastFruit monitoring data, on 26 January 2021, exporters were paying 6 GEL/kg ($1.81) to Georgian dill producers, which is the most demanded variety of aromatic herbs to export from Georgia. In 2022 growers are getting only 4 GEL/kg ($1.3), making local growers unhappy about the current season.

We already notified our readers about the unfavorable start of the aromatic herbs season in Georgia in December and continued to monitor the market, as aromatic herbs are one of the main export products for Georgia in winter on which the income of many small-scale producers depends.

Back in December, growers and exporters expected that the prices would improve in January, but their expectations appeared to be false. The prices still range between 3-4 GEL/kg ($0.98-1.3). The main reason is competition with Iranian herbs on the Russian market.

EastFruit asked Kakhaber Kavlashvili, the founder of company Green Valley, which produces aromatic herbs in Iran and exports to Russia to evaluate the situation on the market today.

According to Kavlashvili, the aromatic herb season in Iran started in December and will last until mid-March. The season there is in its peak right now and Iran actively exports herbs to Russia, although Kavlashvili emphasized decreased demand and prices on the Russian market, explaining it with worsening economic situation in Russia.

Kavlashvili explained that it is cheaper to produce aromatic herbs in Iran compared to Georgia due to lower labor cost and better climate conditions allowing them to produce herbs in the open field in winter. The only advantage of Georgia is lower cost of transportation, but the problem is in delays on Lars Checkpoint due to harsh weather in winter.

“Iran and Uzbekistan became the traditional aromatic herb exporters to Russia and it will be more difficult for Georgian producers to compete with them in terms of price and quality in the future. I see more opportunities in the European, rather than the Russian market for Georgian aromatic herbs, but to export in the EU we should start producing high-quality, Global GAP certified herbs,” Kavlashvili said.

In addition to increased competition, prices are affected by the quality of Georgian aromatic herbs this season. Due to unusually low temperatures in west Georgia, aromatic herbs are changing their color, decreasing their market value.

Usually, aromatic herbs’ exports from Georgia is at its peak in March, when supply from Iran and Uzbekistan on the Russian market declines and demand for Georgian aromatic herbs increases. This season won’t be an exception unless bad weather continues to damage the harvest, and we should expect prices to rise by March.

Сообщение Growers evaluations vs statistics: how is Georgian aromatic herbs export season going? появились сначала на EastFruit.

Representatives of viticultural associations of Moldova, taking into account the new data by the National Agency for Food Safety ANSA, adjust the production balance of the 2021 harvest. In particular, according to the department’s calculations based on the issued phytosanitary certificates, as of the end of last year, almost 65 000 tonnes of table grapes of the 2021 harvest were exported (in 2020 exports of grapes of the 2020 harvest amounted to just over 30 000 tonnes). At least 10 000 more tonnes of table grapes, mostly “Moldova”, were accepted for processing last year. According to fruit market participants, there were about 8 000-9 000 tonnes of table grapes left in the storage facilities of trade and agricultural enterprises at the beginning of January 2022.

Read also: Agrifood forecast for 2022: record price increase, fertilizer shortage, declining yields and labor shortage

In total, according to the Association of Producers and Exporters of Table Grapes, the harvest exceeded 100 000 tonnes last year. This is an optimistic forecast (it will be statistically confirmed after analyzing the reports of agricultural enterprises). Earlier, in October-November last year, some organizations of agricultural producers considered that the 2021 harvest of table grapes would not exceed 83 000-85 000 tonnes. In 2020, about 65 000 tonnes were harvested.

According to traders, table grapes left in the storage facilities vary greatly in quality. A large share of grapes degrades rapidly. However, there is still a lot of high-quality goods (“Moldova” from the vineyards of Pergola). Exporters claim that it is no longer easy to find a buyer for them. The demand for grapes in Russia in the middle of winter traditionally falls. In the European Union, there is interest in black grapes with seeds only in Germany and Poland. Traders hope to find buyers in the Middle East, but they regard the chances as quite low.

Сообщение Table grape harvest in Moldova in 2021 was higher than expected появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit, wholesale lots of apples from Ukraine and Moldova have become available on the Tajik market. They are being sold very successfully, despite the relatively high price and oversupply of local apples. Why are expensive imported apples in demand, while local ones are barely sold?

According to Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov, consultant of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), local and imported apples are sold in different segments. “Supermarket buyers prefer imported apples because of their higher quality parameters: apples are large, calibrated in size and color, they look beautiful and are well stored, reducing the risks of the supermarket,” the expert explains.

According to him, apples from Moldova are sold in bulk at 22 TJS/kg (about $1.95/kg), while Ukrainian apples cost 19 TJS ($1.69). There are Golden Delicious apples from Moldova and red apples from Ukraine on the market. At the same time, local Tajik apples of more or less good quality are sold 2.5 times cheaper – at 8 TJS ($0.71), and low-quality apples – at 3-4 TJS/kg in bulk ($0.26-$0.36).

The monitoring of wholesale prices for apples by EastFruit shows that wholesale prices in Tajikistan are, on average, 2 times higher than in Moldova and 3 or more times higher than in Ukraine. However, Moldovan and Ukrainian apples outperform apples from Tajikistan in terms of quality.

“Due to high apple prices, we constantly hear growers in Tajikistan being disappointed in the apple business, considering it unprofitable. In my opinion, the main reason is a huge lack of knowledge and experience in intensive farming in the country leading to many mistakes and extremely low yields, and low quality compared to Moldova and Ukraine. But in modern horticulture, the success of a business is determined by the quality of products and the efficiency of the cultivation,” Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the FAO, explains.

A year and a half ago, we described and analyzed the causes of these problems in the article “Why are Tajik farmers disappointed with intensive apple orchards”, as well as in the article “Top 10 problems for intensive apple orchards in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries”. Since then, little progress has been made in technology, but production has also increased, affecting apple prices and exacerbating the problems of the least efficient growers.

As we see from the chart, prices for Tajik apples in the 2021/22 season were on average more than a third lower than a year earlier. Even so, there are imported apples on the market, which are in rather high demand.

“In my opinion, investments in apple cultivation in Tajikistan, subject to a professional approach to business – cultivation, processing and storage, can still be very attractive. Business can be more profitable than in Ukraine or Moldova, given the high level of apple prices in the country,” Andriy Yarmak sums up.

Сообщение Apples from Ukraine and Moldova are well sold in Tajikistan, despite the excess of local apples появились сначала на EastFruit.