Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukrainian fresh produce price index up by 5.5% in August
Fruit-Inform Ukrainian fresh produce price index has grown by 5.5% in August 2016 mainly thanks to a sharp rise in tomato prices, which have doubled.
In addition to tomatoes, a rise in the price index was backed by an increase of 12.5% in onion prices. Meanwhile, prices of other traditional vegetables were stable. Potato prices did not change too and averaged UAH 2.50/kg (EUR 0.08/kg). It should also be noted that potato prices usually went down in August due to active harvesting campaign in household farms. However, this year the situation was different, as potato quality and harvest expectations are rather negative now, and the share of produce grown by household farms has been gradually decreasing.
The most significant changes were registered in the fresh fruit price index, which had gone down by 8.5% in August mainly thanks to less expensive watermelons, melons and apples. Meanwhile, prices of oranges and bananas slightly grew.
As regards the price trends in the last week of August, the fresh produce price index changed slightly: fruit prices went down by 0.5% due to less expensive watermelons, traditional vegetables became 2.1% less expensive, and prices of seasonal vegetables went down by 1.3%.