January 12 2012, 12:08 Fruit-Inform

Onion prices start dropping in Russia and Ukraine

A steady onion price decrease trend was outlined in the Ukrainian and Russian market this week. A negative trend is the most apparent in the southern regions of the Russian Federation, where minimum prices have fallen by 20-25% to RUB 2.50-3.00/kg (EUR 0.06-0.07/kg) from early January. Farmers connect such a price reduction with a sharp worsening of the quality of produce. Many stored onions with high moisture content, so these onions started rapidly sprouting due to warm winter. It is rather difficult to sell this produce even by means of price reduction. Some sellers are ready to sell their onions even at RUB 2.00/kg (EUR 0.05/kg), although purchasers' activity is very low in the market after holidays.

High-quality onions decreased in price too. If in late December Russian sellers tried to maintain sales at a range of RUB 5.50-6.00/kg (EUR 0.13-0.15/kg), then now there is almost no demand for offers higher than RUB 4.00-4.50/kg (EUR 0.10-0.11/kg).

In such a way, onion prices in Russia have already reached their levels of January 2009 that fully corroborates Fruit-Inform's forecasts made at the Fourth International Conference “Fruit & Vegetable Business of Russia – 2011”.

Ukrainian farmers lowered onion prices this week too. Current minimum prices for onions in Ukraine have already decreased to UAH 0.50/kg (EUR 0.05/kg), while maximum prices do not exceed UAH 1.50/kg (EUR 0.15/kg).

Will Ukrainian farmers manage to reduce pressure on the internal market by exporting surplus onions to Russia and Poland? What conditions will Ukrainian suppliers have to comply with to have successful business with foreign purchasers? These and many other questions will be answered by the sector's experts at the 4th International Conference “Potatoes and Vegetables of Ukraine – 2012”, President Hotel, Kiev, Ukraine, February 16-17, 2012. To take part in the event, please, fill out an application form.