After a short period of stability, selling prices for potatoes in Ukraine have started to grow again, analysts of the EastFruit project report. The main reason for another rise in prices in this segment, according to experts, was a general reduction in the supply of potatoes in local farms. The fact is that many Ukrainian producers, who do not have capacity for long-term storage, finished selling potatoes in the first half of the current season.
This situation has already affected prices, which since the beginning of this week have risen to 20-30 UAH/kg ($ 0.48-0.71/kg), which is on average 12% higher than at the end of the last working week. It should be noted that representatives of wholesale companies complain about the lack of necessary volumes of quality potatoes in local farms. Farmers, in turn, attribute potato quality problems to unfavorable weather conditions during the harvesting period: prolonged rains had a negative impact not only on the marketable form of potatoes, but also on their storability. Also, according to producers, in 2024, many of them used planting material not of the highest quality.
Prices for potatoes in Ukraine today on average 16% higher than at the end of January last year. Moreover, many market players believe that in the near future the rate of appreciation of these products will noticeably accelerate, “fueled” by information about a possible shortage of quality potatoes in the Ukrainian market.
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