Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine faces lower sales of fresh apples
The demand for fresh apples has significantly gone down in Ukraine since early April. As a result, apple sales have slowed down in contrast to a stable increase in them over the whole winter.
Both middlemen and retail chains say of lower purchasing activity due to high prices of apples. Prices of Ukrainian apples have almost tripled over the storage period, which is the most rapid growth over at least 5 past seasons. A significant year-on-year difference in prices should also be noted. Apple prices varied between UAH 4-10/kg in early April 2014, current prices have already reached UAH 9-15/kg (EUR 0.35-0.59/kg).
Growth in prices is connected with record high volumes of exports to Russia and a significant rise in prices of imported produce due to the devaluation of the national currency in Ukraine.