Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Crimea: watermelon prices up by 50% year-on-year
Wholesale prices of watermelons are significantly higher in Crimea compared with a year before, according to Fruit-Inform.
For the present, sellers at Krymskiy Privoz Wholesale Market, Simferopol, ship their watermelons at RUB 10-15/kg (USD 0.15-0.23/kg). For comparison, a year before, prices varied between RUB 7-10/kg (USD 0.11-0.16/kg).
The market analysts connect such a situation with lower competition in the Crimean market. Last year it was under the serious influence of stable shipments of Ukrainian watermelons. As a result, Crimean sellers had rather significant stocks of unsold produce and were ready to make price concessions. Now there are no exports of Ukrainian watermelons to Crimea, and local sellers manage to maintain higher prices.
However, it should be noted that sellers expect a decrease in prices in the nearest time due to rapidly worsening quality of their watermelons in view of hot weather conditions.