The growth of potato prices in Ukraine continues, analysts of the EastFruit project report. According to regular monitoring, positive price trends have been recorded for more than a month, starting from the last decade of September this year. Traditionally, prices for potatoes in Ukraine during the first autumn month do not increase, as there is an active harvesting and the market receives large volumes of products, which farmers are trying to sell in the shortest possible time. During this period, both medium and low quality potatoes, which are not subject to long-term storage, and high-quality products, which the producer does not plan to store or does not have such an opportunity, are sold. As a result, this season on the potato market in Ukraine has already become exceptional.
Thus, today in the main regions of production potatoes are offered for sale at UAH 20-30/kg ($0.48-0.73/kg), depending on the variety, quality and volume of offered batches of products, which is on average 18% more expensive than at the end of the last working week. It can be stated that potato prices continue to set new price records of the last decade.
According to key market players, the positive price trend in this segment is due to several factors at once. Thus, this week the majority of Ukrainian farmers reported about the completion of potato shipment directly from the field, so the farms offered for sale this product from storage, the prices for which are traditionally higher. Even more confident support for prices continues to be provided by limited supply of potatoes on the market due to a significant decrease in yields of this crop in the current season. Recall, the maximum damage to the future crop, according to producers, caused by dry and hot weather in Ukraine throughout July this year.
Potato prices in Ukraine remain the highest among all countries in the project monitoring region. This fact allows to make forecasts that the domestic market will receive significant volumes of imported products in the first half of the current season. According to experts, it is with the beginning of mass imports price situation on the potato market in Ukraine may stabilize.
It should be noted that today the price of potatoes in Ukraine is already on average 2.9 times higher than at the end of October 2023. At the same time, major market players are not in a hurry to sell the main volumes of potatoes, as they expect further price growth in this segment.
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