Key points of the past week:
– White cabbage is the leader in sales, and its supply is growing
– The fruit segment was dominated by apples and persimmons
– The number of borscht set vegetables increased
– Despite the high season, the supply of tangerines remains low.
– Pumpkin returned to the top of sales again
– Salad and greens were offered more often than a week earlier
– Cucumber is getting cheaper in Ukraine and more expensive in Uzbekistan
– White cabbage and beetroot were in the greatest demand
– In the technological group, fertilizers and plant protection products were most often offered
Read about these and other trends in the fruit and vegetable markets of the region in the weekly review of EastFruittrading platforms .
Last week, participants from 14 countries sold their products on the EastFruit Trade Platform group, while the total number of ads posted increased compared to the previous week. This was primarily due to an increase in the supply of products from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Iran. At the same time, the activity of users from Turkey and Poland decreased. As a result, the top five most active countries in terms of the number of offers per week are as follows: Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
The supply of white cabbage in the trade group continues to grow, making it the top seller last week. The number of ads for other borscht set vegetables, especially onions and potatoes, has also increased. By the way, this season Tajikistan harvested a record potato crop, and there is a noticeable shortage of seed potatoes on the Ukrainian market. The supply of broccoli, Chinese and cauliflower has decreased, while lettuce and greens have become more common. Pumpkin returned to the top of sales, which was actively sold by participants from Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The fruit segment of the marketplace continues to be dominated by apple and persimmon sales, with apples offered less frequently and persimmons more often than the previous week. Uzbekistan actively traded in pomegranate and table grapes, while Egypt sold garden strawberries and orange. Pear returned to the top of sales. At the same time, tangerine sales remained low despite the season. Meanwhile, Russia has banned the import of Abkhazian tangerines.
The chart below shows the weekly top sentences in quantitative terms compared to the previous period.
The number of ads for the purchase of fruit and vegetables continues to grow. Last week, white cabbage and beets were in the highest demand among users. Users also bought carrots and tangerines quite often. There was a request from Moldova for frozen pitted cherries. And participants from Germany were looking for suppliers of pomegranate, pineapple, and orange juice and concentrates.
And remember, last year at the same time, apple was the top-selling product, and its sales were conducted by participants from 5 countries. The number of tangerine sellers was growing. Mandarin from Georgia began to appear on sale. Borsch vegetables were offered much less frequently than today, and they were cheaper. Participants from Ukraine and Uzbekistan often offered greens, while those from Iran and Turkmenistan offered tomatoes.
The prices for the main commodity items in individual countries of the region and how they have changed over the past week are discussed below.
Prices of the EastFruit Trade Platform – Ukraine
In Ukraine, the growth of potato prices has resumed. Prices for white cabbage and carrots continued to rise. Onions were sold at a higher price than a week earlier. Against the backdrop of low demand and rising imports , selling prices for cucumbers began to decline again. At the same time, sweet peppers fell in price, and the price range for tomatoes widened. In the eggplant segment, only imported products remained on the market, and as a result, prices doubled. Broccoli and cauliflower went up in price. Garlic prices declined, while herbs rose significantly.
In the fruit segment, demand was stronger, resulting in higher prices. The only exceptions were grapes and lemon, which fell in price.
Prices of the EastFruit Trade Platform trading group – Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, on the contrary, cucumber prices rose sharply. The minimum price level for potatoes increased. At the same time, the prices for apples and pears have decreased. Meanwhile, greenhouse farms in Uzbekistan will be temporarily left without gas.
Prices of the EastFruit Trade Platform – EGYPT trading group
Egyptian exporters have announced the first price offers for grapefruit. At the same time, prices for the main items remained at the level of the previous week.
And a few more price offers from participants from other countries.
Lithuania: potatoes – 0.28 € EXW
Moldova: white cabbage – 0.45 € EXW
The number of ads posted in the EastFruit Fruittechnology technology group continues to decrease. As in the previous week, the most frequently offered items were various fertilizers and plant protection products. Seedlings of fruit trees were actively sold, but the number of sellers decreased again. Instead, the range of containers expanded. Last week, the trade group offered vacuum bags, foam, plastic, wooden, banana boxes, pallets and other packaging. Technological materials were represented by reinforced concrete poles, greenhouse film, tunnel film, seedling protection netting, thermal sensors, drip tubes, and agrofibre. And Proeftuin Randwijk has conducted extensive tests of a new robot designed for apple harvesting.
For the analysis of the dynamics of fruit and vegetable supply on our trading platforms over the previous week , please click here. And how to effectively promote products in Telegram groups here.
On Monday, members of the Bundestag passed a vote of no confidence in the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Bavarian Radio reports.
“The chancellor put up a confidence vote in the Bundestag and lost it as planned. This means that the president will dissolve the parliament, and elections will be held in February,” the radio station notes.
394 MPs expressed no confidence in Scholz’s government, 207 supported the government, and 116 abstained.
Scholz himself had previously called for such a vote, as European media reported that it would allow him to hold early elections. Now, Scholz is expected to ask German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag. If the parliament is dissolved, elections in Germany must be held within 60 days from the date of dissolution.
Earlier, Scholz, who heads the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), agreed with opposition parties on plans to hold early elections on February 23, 2025.
In November, the ruling coalition in Germany collapsed due to disagreements over Scholz’s economic policy.
At the same time, German parties are already preparing for early elections. The SPD leadership has decided to re-nominate Scholz as a candidate for chancellor. This decision still has to be approved by the party congress on January 11, 2025, but German media noted that this is just a formality. So far, the CDU leader Friedrich Merz, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from the Union 90/Greens party, and the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel have also been considered candidates for the chancellorship.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank released a video review of the most important elections in the world – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=k5LDANC7lkpbK0Nh
Poninkivska Cardboard and Paper Mill-Ukraine (PKPF-Ukraine, Khmelnytsky region), a major Ukrainian corrugated cardboard producer, increased its corrugated packaging output by 18.7% in January-November 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, to 89.7 million square meters.
As reported, in the first ten months of the year, the increase in corrugated packaging production was also 18.7% compared to the same period in 2023.
According to Ukrpapir Association statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the mill continues to be one of the top three producers of corrugated packaging after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill and Trypillia Packaging Mill.
Over 11 months, the company also increased its production of containerboard (including corrugated paper) by 3.5% to 73.2 thousand tons, and paper by 28% to 0.92 thousand tons.
In monetary terms, in January-November, PCPF-Ukraine produced products worth UAH 2 billion 487.3 million (+17.9%).
As reported with reference to the data collected by the association from the main enterprises of the industry, in January-November, the production of paper and cardboard in Ukraine increased by 2.6% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 549.7 thousand tons, cardboard boxes – by 13.4%, to 539.7 million square meters.
Poninkivska Paper Mill (formerly Poninkiv Cardboard and Paper Mill), once the largest producer of school notebooks, now has one main production facility – paper and cardboard, producing mainly corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging, as well as wrapping and waste paper.
The plant is part of the United Cardboard Company-Ukraine (UCC, Lutsk) owned by businessman Mykola Lobov, whose production assets include, among others, Lutsk KPF-Ukraine (Volyn region), which produced 58.3 thousand tons of various cardboard (down 3.7%) and 44.65 million square meters of corrugated boxes in 11 months (according to Ukrpapir), compared to 13.5 million square meters a year earlier.
As reported, in 2023, PCPF-Ukraine produced products worth almost UAH 2 billion 450 million, up 3% year-on-year. Net profit increased 2.7 times to UAH 27 million.
This week, wholesale prices for cucumbers in Ukraine have started to decline again, according to analysts from the EastFruit project. Sellers describe this step as a necessary measure due to the unusually low demand for greenhouse cucumbers in mid-December.
Currently, greenhouse cucumbers are being sold at 80-110 UAH/kg ($1.92-2.64/kg), which is on average 11% cheaper than the previous week. Market operators attribute this price drop to wholesale companies and retail chains increasingly refusing to purchase large batches of greenhouse cucumbers, citing low retail sales. As a result, significant volumes of unsold products have accumulated in warehouses, with their quality deteriorating.
However, it is worth noting that greenhouse cucumbers in Ukraine are still, on average, 21% more expensive than during the same period last year. Most market operators consider this situation temporary and do not rule out the possibility that prices in this segment may start to rise again as early as next week.
Maintain full control over fruit and vegetable prices in Turkey, Egypt, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Russia, Moldova and other markets subscribing to EastFruit Premium.
In January-November 2024, Kokhavynsk Paper Mill (KPM, Lviv region), which produces sanitary paper products, increased its production by 81.9% compared to the same period in 2023, to UAH 1 billion 922 million, according to statistics from UkrPapir Association.
As reported, in the first 10 months of the year, the factory’s production growth was 78.3% compared to the same period in 2023, and in the first nine months it was 75.1%.
According to the association’s statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, in physical terms, the production of the base paper for sanitary products at the mill increased by 41% to 53.65 thousand tons during this period.
The production of toilet paper in rolls amounted to 125 million units, slightly (by 1.4%) decreasing in January-November 2023. KPF confidently ranks second in terms of its output after Kyiv CPP.
As reported, in October last year, Kokhava Pulp and Paper Mill put into operation a paper machine for the production of cellulose base paper (previously, it produced products only on a waste paper basis). To organize such production in 2021, the mill attracted a EUR 13.8 million loan from the EBRD.
Kokhava Pulp and Paper Mill, which has been operating since 1939, produces base paper for sanitary and hygiene products, as well as toilet paper and paper towels. Before the new machine was put into operation, the mill had two paper machines with a total capacity of 40 thousand tons of base paper per year.
In 2023, the plant increased its production by 18% compared to 2022 to UAH 1 billion 151.2 million, while net profit increased 2.7 times to UAH 137 million.
This week, Ukraine’s potato market has experienced a notable uptick in trading activity, according to analysts from the EastFruit project. Industry experts highlight that, in response to rising demand, farmers are continuing to increase their selling prices in this segment.
Currently, potato prices are being declared in the range of 22-30 UAH/kg ($0.53-0.72/kg), which represents an average increase of 22% compared to the previous week.
Market operators attribute this heightened trading activity to the growing interest from wholesale companies and retail chains, which have already begun stocking up for the New Year holidays. While further price increases in this segment are not ruled out, a sharp rise in prices is considered unlikely.
It is noteworthy that, as of today, potatoes in Ukraine are being sold at an average of 85% higher than during the same period last year. This significant price hike is primarily due to a reduction in potato production in Ukraine this year, largely caused by the drought that affected almost all major potato-growing regions during the summer.
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